


A Field Of Paper Flowers

by Arithese



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti)
Genre: Aged-Up Losers Club (IT), Angst, Bad Parents Maggie Tozier & Wentworth Tozier, Bisexual Richie Tozier, Blood and Injury, Child Abuse, Enemies to Lovers, Gay Eddie Kaspbrak, Gen, Hurt Richie Tozier, Hurt/Comfort, Quite Literally, Richie Tozier is a Little Shit, Superpowers, The Losers Club Have Powers (IT), The Losers are Superheroes, Violence, injuries, superpower au, they're like 18, villain richie tozier
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-04
Updated: 2020-12-12
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:35:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 16
Words: 71,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25076227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arithese/pseuds/Arithese
Summary: Eddie controls the light and can use it to create daggers of light, Richie controls the shadows, and can engulf others in darkness. They are equally matched, but when they meet for the first time they both realise their powers don’t work on each other for a reason neither of them understand yet.Or: All the Losers were born with superpowers, working for the superhero organisation Imperium, except for Richie.
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak & Richie Tozier, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, The Losers Club & Richie Tozier
Comments: 175
Kudos: 188





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! I know I've been AFK for a few weeks but I'm back with a new story! As the tags show it's (another) superpower AU because I'm a sucker for those. I'll try to update every week, and now I'm finally free from University I'll have more time to write again. 
> 
> Title is taken from Evanescence - Imaginary. 
> 
> Now without further ado, enjoy the chapter!
> 
> Edit: ItsyBitsyBatsySpider drew this AMAZING picture of my story!! Go check it out on her Tumblr!! [ItsyBitsyBatsySpider](https://itsybitsybatsyspider.tumblr.com/post/622755663604596736/a-field-of-paper-flowers-chapter-1-arithese)
> 
> <3333

The building’s power had already shut off an hour ago, but that was okay, Eddie didn’t need any power or light to see. He conjured the light from his hand, low enough to not alert anyone in the building but enough to see where he was going. Eddie takes a shuddering breath, stepping around the corner.

The building was huge, and there were too many floors to cover at once, even with their whole team. 6 Losers as they all called themselves. And all capable enough to stake out the building alone, which is exactly what Eddie was doing right now, staking out the building where _someone_ had broken in.

Eddie shook his head mentally, because it was obvious who had broken in, only one group had been managed to hold up for so long against the heroes; Nox. A group as old as their own, that posed the biggest threat to them. It was founded by a couple that was now pretty much retired.

They had been one of the OG powered people, and they had recruited many over the course of the next 20 years.

“Well shit-” A voice cuts through Eddie’s thoughts, and the boy looks at the figure in front of him. “Well hello there cutie.” He continues with a grin, a goofy grin on his face, standing in the middle of one of the offices, staring at him.

“Who are you?” Eddie asks sharply, shifting into a fighting position. The boy was dressed in all black cloak, the hood loosely on top of his head and but not actually hiding his face. A thick mop of curly hair was visible under the hood, and a dopey grin that was strangely infuriating plastered on his face.

“Ain’t that the million dollar question?” The boy chuckles, lingering for a moment before taking a step back. Eddie could see black smoke lingering around his hands.

“Don’t move!” Eddie cries out, a dagger of lightning shooting out of his hand. The boy raises an eyebrow, almost as if he was amused rather than scared.

“And here I thought pops was just exaggerating when he said all of you heroes were a cliché,” He quips, and then he was just _gone_. The boy appeared in front of the table, picking up the files that had already been placed there. Eddie frowned, throwing the lightning dagger at the boy.

The boy yelps, phasing out again and materialising a few steps to the right. “You really couldn’t make this easy on me huh?” The boy shouts back, but Eddie was already attacking again, charging in himself. He sucks up the light in the room, blasting himself forwards with incredible speed.

The boy’s eyes widen at the sudden display of power, transporting again. Eddie adapted quickly, throwing more daggers of light at the boy, and using the attack to grab the files that the boy had dropped earlier. Whatever was in those files was valuable to Nox, so he had to make sure he wouldn’t get it.

“No but seriously I need to get back to your mom, so can you just give me those files and be on our merry way?” The boy tries, only focused on the files.

“As if,” Eddie snorts behind his mask, conjuring up more daggers and shooting it at the boy. Smoak lingered around him constantly, and every time he disappeared it was as if he disappeared into the shadows. This time the boy quickly dodged, rolling over the ground and disappearing again.

The boy appeared next to him, but Eddie was too quick, jumping forwards and getting the files out of the boy’s range. He groaned, as if this was a _game_ to him.

“No seriously, at least tell me your name, or should I just call you cutie?” The guy shouts, but Eddie shoots three more daggers. The boy yells in surprise, ducking low. Eddie used that surprise to shoot himself forwards, colliding roughly with the taller boy and pointing a dagger at his throat.

“It’s luminance-” Eddie hisses, but the moment he moved the dagger forwards, not planning on actually killing the boy but threaten him a bit more, the dagger just _disappeared_. Eddie blinks, stunned for a split second before he conjured one again, but it disappeared the moment it touched the boy’s skin.

A wicked grin spread across his face. “I think you’re having some performance issues-” He snickers, raising an eyebrow. “Can’t get it up?” He snickers, but Eddie moved before he could dignify him with a proper response, striking out. The boy ducks low, and smoke spread around him, ready to-

“What the fuck.” The boy suddenly whispers, eyes widening as he stayed on the same spot. The boy scrambled up before Eddie landed another hit, creating more distance between them. His eyes landed on the files again, a frown on his face, and for whatever reason, he hadn’t transported.

Eddie’s eyes narrowed, his powers didn’t work properly around this person, that much was clear. But he didn’t know if the files he currently had were the only thing they were after, so he tugged them in his uniform, sucking in a deep breath and booming himself forwards with a flash of light.

The boy seemed to quickly snap out of his confusion, narrowing his eyes at him, and raising his fists. Black smoke appeared from them, but when he went to punch, it just vanished. Eddie still grunted, force still strong behind that punch, and he throws his arms up to deflect a second one.

Eddie conjured another dagger from his hands, throwing it at the guy but as expected the dagger shattered the moment it hit the boy, disappearing in a cloud of smoke. The boy transports again, and Eddie whirls around, seeing him appear behind him, still at a distance, but he was fast.

He shoots forwards, reaching for the files.

Eddie deflects again, throwing a punch at him. The boy blocks again, ducking and swiping his leg over the ground. Eddie staggers, falling backwards but he uses his powers to stabilise himself. He looks at the boy, and then he shoots himself forwards, light seemingly exploding behind him to propel him forwards.

The boy’s eyes widen, and he wasn’t quick enough to dodge Eddie’s body from literally cannonballing into him. Eddie lands on top of him, immediately slamming the boy’s arms down in an attempt to restrain him.

“Quite kinky m’lady, but I will get better attention from your mom tonight-” The boy laughs, twisting from under Eddie, and before the boy knew it a hand was freed and the boy delivers a hard strike to Eddie’s head. Eddie cries out, staggering and the boy quickly worms his way from under Eddie, standing up.

Eddie quickly blinks, shaking his head and staring at the boy, who was standing there with a smile on his face, holding the files.

“No you don’t!” Eddie cries out, sucking in another breath and propelling himself forwards. The boy immediately shifts, and Eddie, in a split-second, can see smoke seemingly coming from every part of his body, ready to-

The two collided and there was an explosion of light and darkness, and a resonating boom. Eddie cries out, being flung backwards and landing on the ground. He groans, pain shooting through his body and he blinks furiously, but when he looks up all he can see is darkness again, no light at all.

Eddie heaves in a breath, struggling to even produce a flicker of light. From the darkness a laugh sounds, a laugh that sends chills down Eddie’s spine.

“Darkness is my speciality cutie, send your stupid boss my regards-” The boy giggles, and then there was just… silence.

Eddie groans loudly, struggling to his knees and looking up, slowly illuminating the room again. But he was gone, the boy was gone, and so were the folders. Eddie groans again, letting his head hang.

“Lume!” A voice suddenly cries out, and Eddie looks up almost warily to see Bev run towards him with wide eyes.

“Hey Loris,” Eddie breathes out softly, looking up at her. She wore a dark brown skin tight suit, completely different from his bright white suit, that allowed her to keep her full range of abilities. Loris was her hero name, like Luminance was Eddie’s. It was after the animal the slow Loris, as he abilities seemed to match that, and just like the animal, she looked cute and small, but was probably the most deadly of the Losers.

If she managed to get close to you, she would be able to poison you with one bite. A bite that wouldn’t immediately kill, but was dangerous and could be extremely painful.

“What happened?” Bev asks, crouching down. Eddie groans again, carefully standing up. He could see some scrapes and cuts, but apart from that it was fine.

“I’ll tell you during debrief, it’s a long story.” He mutters, looking down at his hand as he slowly creates a dagger. He had learned to do that years ago, so it couldn’t have been his fault. It was something else. He could see Bev staring, but he ignored it, closing his hand and following her.

The rest of Nox had also retreated when they got everything, but they managed to secure a couple of files from them, so it wasn’t a complete failure.

Eddie allowed Bev to take him back to the transport vehicle, and they rode back in silence until they got to the compound.

“What happened out there Eddie?” Bev asks, peeling off her mask, and Eddie removed his glasses as well. Eddie sighs, putting them on the table as the rest of the Losers walked in, all still wearing their uniforms. He ignored the stares he got, as the rest no doubt sensed the tense atmosphere.

Stan walks over to him silently, putting a hand on his shoulder and just looking at him, asking him if he was okay. Eddie smiles softly, shrugging before sighing.

“I ran into someone new today, he was good,” Eddie starts, glancing at the rest of the Losers. Most wore similar outfits, all designed by Beverly of course. Bev, Bill and Stan all had a similar skin tight suit on, but different colours. Bill’s was completely black with white lines over it.

Stan’s was darkish red, almost auburn, with greyish parts. The inner parts of his costume were mostly red, with the darker colour on the sides. The collar was grey, a thin line going from his collar down to the equally darker red belt. 

“Who?” Stan asks, and Eddie shakes his head.

“I have no idea, he didn’t give a name, but he was working for Nox no doubt,” Eddie says, frowning slightly. “He was wearing this long cape with a hood, but he was young, like us. And he was infuriatingly immature. Black curly hair, pale, tall-” Eddie listed, and Mike glances as Bill for a second, who sighs.

“Y-You mean P-Pitch?” He asks, shifting forms until a tall man, or rather boy, was standing in front of them. The serious expression on Bill’s, or Pitch’s face didn’t seem to match his appearance. The unruly black hair was even worse now there was no cape to hide it, and Eddie could see freckles dotted along his nose and cheeks.

“Yeah that’s him, you know him?” Eddie asks, staring at the guy’s face for a little longer before Bill nods, shifting back to his own body. A power that had earned him the name ‘Anyman’ pretty unanimously. Bill walks to the computer that was also in the room. He opens it, typing something in quickly and turning to Eddie to show it. “Get the fuck out-” Eddie exclaims, eyes widening.

On the screen were two figures they were all too familiar with, the leaders of Nox and one of the first publicly known powered people. Their own organisation, Imperium, was a direct response to Nox as they were getting too powerful, and the two organisations had been enemies ever since.

The two people on the screen were Wentworth and Maggie Tozier. The two hadn’t been shy with revealing their true faces, which had pretty quickly led to them discovering their real names. So of course Eddie knew these two, but what he didn’t know was that they apparently had a son.

“We don’t know much about him, he’s only been out on the field for a few months, but he’s good,” Stan frowns, arms over each other.

“Do we know his name?” Eddie asks, but Bill shakes his head.

“Only t-that he goes by PItch-” Bill says softly, and Eddie sits back down, pulling his knee up to his chest.

“And powers?” He frowns, looking down at his own hand and allowing a light dagger to come out of his hands. Because he hadn’t forgotten about the fight with Pitch, and the way his powers just seemed to short circuit around him.

It had been _years_ since he discovered his powers, it had taken him so many hours of training to control it, to figure out what he could do. And he was still learning. It had only been a few months since he figured out he could, if he touched someone, see someone’s hopes, something they _truly_ desired.

And take it away if necessary.

But it had been so long since his powers malfunctioned, especially considering he mastered creating daggers so long ago already. It shouldn’t have happened in the first place.

“What happened out there Eddie?” Bev asks instead of answering, and Eddie looks up at the rest of the Losers, allowing the light dagger to crumble into little pieces, vanishing before they even hit the ground. Such control, and yet it had meant nothing when he was fighting Pitch.

“My powers malfunctioned-” Eddie says softly, causing the rest of the Losers to frown.

“H-How?” Bill asks, equally confused. “You’ve t-trained for y-years-”

“I know, that’s the thing I don’t understand,” Eddie interrupts, frustration bubbling up inside of him. “We’ve been training for so long. Even before we were found by Imperium, I haven’t had my powers malfunction for months, and certainly not like… _this_.” Eddie almost whines, huffing slightly.

“What do you mean?” Bev asks, sitting down next to Eddie. The boy glances up at her, but just for a second before he looked down at his hands again, taking an almost shaky breath.

“Nothing worked when I was near him, even my daggers just-” Eddie starts, conjuring another dagger and then letting it vanish. “Vanished.” He emphasised his words, knowing the Losers were watching his daggers.

“Maybe it's because you’re opposites?” Ben asks softly, walking over to Bev and sitting down next to her, wrapping an arm around her. Bev smiles lazily, leaning into him, patting his chest endearingly. Ben probably had the most straightforward powers of the Losers; Super strength.

Which had led to an equally straightforward name; Brawn.

But the powers was something the Losers, but especially Bev, exploited often. Bev loved riding on Ben’s back when they walked around the compound, or around their own homes. And it wasn’t just super strength either, his skin was also near indestructible, and not much could penetrate his skin.

Stan was the one teamed up with Ben the most, as they could use each other’s power the best. Stan’s powers weren’t as pronounced as the others, but still equally as dangerous to their enemies. Stan’s hearing, eyesight and all senses were amplified to an incredible level, making him really valuable to the team.

He couldn’t exactly fly, but he could hover in the air, glide forwards using air streams. And Ben was an excellent way to get up high enough to do so. His nails, both on his feet and hands, could extent at will, resembling sharp claws that could easily cut through skin if they wanted to.

His claws so sharp, and being one of the few things that they had discovered could harm Ben’s skin.

And being the bird enthusiast himself, he hadn’t given himself the most obvious name like Hawk or Eagle; but he had eventually settled on Osprey.

“It could be possible, maybe you cancel each other out. Light and darkness.” Stan speaks up, and Eddie gnaws at his lip, shrugging slightly. 

“Pitch had the same problem, his powers malfunctioned as well,” Eddie supplies. ”It just felt weird guys, different.”

“Different h-how?” Bill frowns, looking at Eddie with concern. It was at times like these that they realised just how little they knew about powers in general. All they knew was from their own, and Imperium’s, limited research on their powers. But everyone’s power was different, reacted differently.

After near 20 years they had experience with teaching people control over their own powers, but in the end it was all the person themselves who had to figure it out. And it had been a lot of trial and error. They still didn’t even know what caused their powers exactly, but it was no coincidence that it had something to do with Derry.

Wentworth and Maggie were born in Derry, and the 6 Losers had grown up in that town as well. But other people with powers had popped up all over the country, mostly in concentrated areas. Their team was still looking into that, but so far they had come up with virtually nothing.

“It didn’t _feel_ like it was malfunctioning. My powers worked, just not on Pitch,” Eddie explains. “And it wasn’t like fire versus water, there was this barrier or something-”

“Like your powers didn’t even connect with each other?” Mike asks, voice steady as always. He wore a jacket with black sleeves and a brownish yellow on the front, and equally black pants and boots. The equally brownish yellow animal logo was printed on his right sleeve, as a reminder of his powers.

He could summon the spirits of animals, not transform into them but summon their spirits so he was known to the world as Spirit.

Eddie nods at the question. “It didn’t just malfunction, it just wouldn’t hit.” Eddie affirms,

“I’ll see if the research team has any idea.” Mike murmurs, wrapping his arms over each other.

“Thanks Mike,” Eddie smiles softly, and Mike nods. “Should we just go back to debriefing? Pitch got away with the files, and I don’t know what was on there.” Eddie says, and the rest of the Losers nod, getting back to work.

*

*

*

“I see you were successful,” His dad draws out, literally looking down at him. Richie’s expression remains stoic, nodding as he stood rigid in front of his father. 

“I was sir.” He says, handing one of the servants the files, so he could take it to his father. Wentworth Tozier was sitting in front of him, next to his mom Maggie, but he couldn’t call either of them that, it was either sir, ma’am or the names they had chosen for themselves when they started Nox.

Algos and Statera.

His father narrowed his eyes when he didn’t elaborate, and Richie can only swallow thickly before pain intensifies in the back of his head. Richie stifles a yell, unable to suppress a wince but he remains seated, unmoving as much as possible. The pain only lasts for moments, until it disappears again.

Richie gasps softly, steadying himself and looking up at his father.

“I ran into one of the heroes Sir, we fought-”

“And got injured.” Wentworth interrupts him, disappointment clear on his face. Richie sighs, knowing there was no way to hide it. His father could sense the pain someone was feeling, and could no doubt feel the pain lingering in his head, and if he wanted to, amplify that pain to unimaginable levels.

The only thing holding him back right now was age, even though he was still relatively long. And it was also the reason why both his parents wouldn’t go out in the field again. Which is also part of the reason why they pushed Richie so hard to be ready on the field, carry out their legacy.

“I did, he was good.” Richie says softly.

“And you’re supposed to be better Richard,” Maggie huffs in annoyance, shaking her head. Richie gnaws at his lip and Maggie narrows her eyes, looking at him. “You are hiding something from us.” She states, and Richie only bites down harder. Because he had hoped that he could hide this from them.

He had no idea how his parents were going to react if he told them he failed, that he was weak. But he also knew that lying would be even worse, he learned that one the hard way.

“My powers malfunctioned around the boy I fought, Luminance was his name-”

“What do you mean _malfunctioned_?” Maggie hisses, and Richie knew he would’ve shit his pants if he hadn’t grown up with them. They may think that his father was the leader, but it was his mom that called the shots, sat back and directed anyone on the board, like a Queen in the game of chess.

The most powerful of the players, protecting the king.

“Luminance has some kind of light powers, it was like they cancelled my powers out. He had the same problem.” Richie spoke, as stoic as he could, because he knew all too well how much his parents despised it when he showed too much emotion.

“Interesting-” His father draws out, glancing to the right to look at one of his advisors Mr. Hockstetter, father of Patrick. One of the few people in the organisation that didn’t have an alternative name, largely because he wasn’t out in the field like the rest of them, didn’t even have a superpower apart from his knowledge.

Mr. Hockstetter frowns, turning back to Richie.

“There is a legend-” He starts, looking up and down, and Richie has to suppress a scowl, or even a witty comeback, but he knew better than to do that. He turns back to his parents. “I will have to do more research sir, but I think I have an idea.” He says, and Wentworth nods, waving him away.

Unlike his son, Mr. Hockstetter could be considered sane, and was evidently incredibly wary of Richie’s parents.

Mr. Hockstetter bows politely, leaving the room, no doubt to go to his office. Richie listens to him leave, but his eyes were focused on his father. He sighs, finally looking down at the files in his hand that Richie had managed to steal. He looks up at Richie, before he sighs, picking up the files and handing it to the woman next to him.

Richie frowns, biting his tongue to keep himself from asking why this random woman needed the files. The woman, Febris, grabbed the files from his father, looking pleased with herself. Richie hated her so much, ever since she came to them now a little over a year ago. She was a large donor, and her powers earned her a spot at the top.

A position she had more than often abused to get what she wanted, but Richie had no idea what she truly wanted from them, from Nox. His parents knew, but they wouldn’t tell him because when did they ever tell him anything? He was their son, but he wasn’t special because of it.

And he had no idea what she needed with the files the city stored on known superheroes.

“Enough?” Wentworth asks, and Febris looks up at Richie, scowling at him, because of course she was.

“For now-” She huffs, closing the files again.

“You are dismissed Richard,” His mom spoke, and Richie nods, bowing for a second before leaving the stuffy room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what do you guys think? I would love to hear your thoughts!
> 
> So just to recap all the people so far:
> 
> Richie - Pitch - Shadow powers  
> Eddie - Luminance - Light powers  
> Bill - Anyman - Transform + unknown aspect of power  
> Stan - Osprey - Eagle like powers  
> Bev - Loris - Flexible + poisonous bite  
> Mike - Spirit - Animal spirits  
> Ben - Brawn - Super Strength
> 
> Wentworth - Algos – feel and amplify pain  
> Maggie - Statera  
> ? - Febris
> 
> Nox - Bad guys  
> Imperium - Good guys


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Thank you so much for the awesome feedback! <333

Of course it didn’t take long for them to run into each other, Nox and Imperium were direct opposites. So Richie wasn’t surprised when he got to the docks, that the Losers would show up.

“I hear some Losers-” Peter grins, ears literally growing to be able to hear more. Richie narrows his eyes from under his cloak, looking up and around to see where they were. It was dark, but that was exactly in his advantage, so he wasn’t put off by that. It was far past midnight already, a half-full moon in the sky. Richie narrows his eyes at the light on top of one of the crates.

He glances at Henry, who was still the leader of their group, as much as he despised it. Henry glances at him, scowling. “Go.”

That was all he needed, he sucks in a breath and feels the shadows envelop him, disappearing from the spot. He quickly appears again, now on top of the crates. He glances around, and he’s just in time to see 4 figures jump down from the crates, down towards the docks, and he curses.

It was then that he spots Luminance again, with another figure he recognised only from the files they had on the Losers. And it wasn’t hard to spot the only girl of the group, Loris. She was standing next to Luminance, like they were on look-out.

“I’m coming up.” He heard Patrick in his ear, and Richie frowns. But he didn’t get a lot of time to think about it, before he knew it, Patrick quite literally catapults upwards, his elastic body stretching unnaturally and jumping in front of the last two Losers. Richie transports again, wanting to appear directly behind Luminance.

And for a moment he had forgotten about his last encounter, but he was reminded all too quickly when he didn’t appear where he _wanted_ to appear. He can feel his heart jolt as he lands too far away from Luminance, and before he could reach him, Luminance notices him, whirling around and conjuring a light dagger.

Richie sidesteps without thinking, but he knew the dagger wouldn’t hit either way. He knew Patrick was focusing on Loris, and while he didn’t trust Patrick at all, he knew that Patrick wouldn’t let Loris go just to spite him. So he focuses on his own battle, swiping his leg over the ground.

He caught Luminance’s knees, sending him to the ground. The boy counters all too quickly, shooting light from his hands to create a distraction. Richie yells, squeezing his eyes shut before he envelopes himself in shadows, blocking the light. He rolls out of the way, teleporting to the other side when he was far enough from Luminance.

Luminance whirls around, but Richie teleports again, and again. He appears behind Luminance, charging forwards and striking again. He couldn’t see his eyes behind the mask, but he could see by the way his eyebrows raised in panic, and he threw his arms up, deflecting the attack.

Richie dug in his belt, hidden under his cloak and grabbing a knife, swiping at Luminance. He yells, conjuring a dagger and swiping at the knife. Richie frowns for just a moment as the dagger hits his knife, but he quickly realises it didn’t disappear because his knife wasn’t part of him, wasn’t fused with his powers.

So he swipes at the dagger, not even feeling it disappear under his hand. Luminance’s eyes widen, and Richie grins knowingly.

“We meet again Lu Lu,” Richie grins, winking from under his cloak. Luminance’s face twists at that, rage appearing all too clear. 

“What the fuck did you call me?” Luminance hisses, striking forwards all too quickly. Richie’s head snaps back, and he feels blood spurt out of his nose. Richie groans, balling his fist and punching Eddie. He can feel his fist hitting something, not exactly sure what he’s hitting but it didn’t matter.

Luminance wheezes loudly, and Richie creates some distance again. He narrows his eyes, wiping at his nose without as much as wincing. He swipes low, reaching for the knife that had fallen when Luminance punched him. He grasps around the handle again, swiping low and feeling it tear at the white fabric.

Luminance hisses, and light explodes from his hands, but Richie responds quickly, smoke appearing around him. Richie realises his mistake a second too late, and before he knew it, an explosion sounded. Richie cries out, feeling himself thrown backwards. He collides with something hard, and he groans.

Pain explodes in his back and he desperately shakes his head, blinking up. The cloak falls off his face, exposing it. He didn’t mind, his face wasn’t a secret, but it helped him with his powers, so he quickly pulls the hood over his head, and he pulls at his shadows, until he realises his surroundings.

Richie’s eyes widen, blinking at the unfamiliar view. He was suddenly in a forest, bright light around him. Richie slowly stands up, pulling the hood over his face a little more, feeling comforting by the darkness, especially around the bright light, it made his skin crawl. He never liked to feel so exposed.

There was an eery atmosphere around him, and he glances around slowly, until his eyes settle on a house. Richie frowns, whirling around a few times more but it was the only building, the only thing he could see apart from the trees, and standing there completely out of place.

There was a scream coming from the house, soft but still there. Richie looks around one more time, but he doesn’t see anything so he slowly walks over to the door. He pulls at the handle, pushing the door open. He didn’t call out, refusing to alert his presence in the case of an enemy in there.

The hood was a comforting blanket around him, and he blends in with the shadows, creeping along the walls, and further into the house. It was a standard house really, a little run-down sure but still entirely ordinary. On the right there was a living room, a big chair situated in front of the TV.

Richie creeps over to the fireplace, shadows lingering around him as a sort of shield. He reaches out softly, wanting to grasp the picture on the fireplace. He recoiled as he touches it, a shuddering going through him. His eyes widen under the cloak, staring at the man who was smiling at him.

Who was this man?

“Eddie-bear!” A voice suddenly cries out, and Richie snaps his head up. A door slams upstairs, and a pounding was heard. Richie frowns, unable to transport upstairs, he had no idea where upstairs was. So he creeps into the home, finding the stairs and walking up to the first floor.

“No mommy please-” A young voice begs, but a door was heard opening. Richie walks closer to the noise, making sure to stay hidden in the shadows.

“Eddie open this door now!” The voice cries again, and Richie winces at the sound, gazing at the woman. She was huge, that’s the first thing that came to Richie’s mind. She was morbidly obese, barely able to stand on her legs. Her thick fingers were curled into fists, banging on the door.

The boy on the other side of the door was sobbing, unable to form any sentences anymore, but the woman kept on pounding on the door, ignoring the soft cries. Richie almost felt bad for him, if he knew what the hell was going on. He walks closer, knowing he was risking exposing himself.

But he was too curious to really care about that right now.

“Eddie open up, now!” The woman tries again, and only then does the boy slowly open the door. Richie’s breath hitches slightly at the sight of the boy, barely 10 years old, tears streaming down his freckled face as he looks up to his mom with frightened eyes. “Oh thank goodness!” She exclaims.

The boy, Eddie probably, startles as she reaches out, grabbing his wrist and pulling him out of the room. Richie immediately evaporates into the shadows, appearing into the room instead to avoid them seeing him. The woman drags the boy down the hall, pushing open the door.

“No mommy!” He cries, but he barely tries to tug his arm free, too frozen. Richie creeps up to them, able to look through the door that was wide open. The woman drops the boy’s arm, immediately rummaging through the cabinets before pulling out a standard orange prescription bottle.

Eddie only seemed to freeze even more, eyes going wide. He whimpers and the woman turns to him with a disapproving frown.

“I saw the wrapper in your backpack Eddie-bear, you know your stomach is too fragile for that much sugar-” She says, and Richie feels revolted at the fake concern in her voice. Eddie whimpers, more tears streaming down his face. The woman takes that as her cue, opening the bottle and putting two pills in her hand.

“No don’t do this please, I won’t do it again, please mommy-” The boy starts to freak out again but the woman wasn’t hearing it, stepping forwards and grabbing his face. Eddie whimpers again, but he doesn’t really struggle, allowing her to push his head back, dropping the pills in his mouth.

She immediately clamps a hand over his mouth, and Richie knew exactly what she was trying to make him do. Eddie was shaking, cowering under her gaze, breathing heavily through his nose. She growls in frustration, reaching out with the other hand and squeezing his nose shut.

And that was the last straw for Richie.

“Hey!” Richie cries out, surging forwards. “Let him g-” He starts, but his mouth clamps shut the moment his hand goes straight _through_ the woman. Richie blinks, freezing on the spot. The woman didn’t even stop, didn’t even _hear_ him. Eddie’s eyes widen at the lack of oxygen, reluctantly swallowing the pills.

Richie reaches forwards again, but his hand goes through the two figures just like the last time. Richie shivers at that, looking around with a hopeless expression. Eddie starts to struggle slightly, which only seemed to satisfy the woman, and she watches with gleeful eyes as Eddie struggles to turn to the toilet.

The boy heaves, stomach convulsing painfully before vomiting into the toilet.

There was a bright flash of light, not sudden, but gradually over a few seconds. The sound of Eddie retching lingered, but it faded, until there was nothing for a split-second, and then the wind picked up, the sound of fighting somewhere in the distance, and the familiar sight of the docks came into focus.

Richie groans, blinking heavily and scrambling to his feet. Luminance was looking at him with the same bewildered expression, even slightly confused.

“Pitch, we got what we wanted, we’re out of here,” Patrick’s voice suddenly sounded in his ear. Richie groans, looking back at Luminance again.

“What the fuck-” Luminance curses to himself, shaking his head. Richie forces a chuckle, grinning.

“Well that wasn’t as explosive as last night with your mom but damn,” Richie breathes out, and Luminance scowls, focusing on him all too quickly. Immediately two daggers shot from his hands, but Richie shook his head. “Hear that Lu Lu? That’s your mom calling for another quickie.” Richie cackles.

He lifts his hand to his ear, even if that was obstructed by his cloak, for comedic affect. Luminance didn’t react, bolting forwards, but Richie was faster, knowing where he had to go. So he let the shadows envelop him before Luminance got too close, appearing on the rendezvous spot.

“Loser-” Patrick mutters as he appears, seeing everyone already in the vehicle. Richie glares at him, but he enters without saying anything. Patrick closes the door behind him, arm stretching to reach the other end of the door, but Richie ignores him, sitting down on one of the seats.

His brows furrows, mind whirling, and he couldn’t get the imagine of that tiny boy out of his head.

*

*

*

“Fuck-” Eddie curses as Pitch disappears, hearing a car start up not too soon after.

“Are we going after them?” Ben asks in his ear, and Eddie scowls, climbing onto his feet.

“How are we doing that genius?” Eddie shoots back, climbing to his feet and shaking his head.

“We p-planted a tracker on the car-” Bill responds as Eddie walks back towards the water, jumping down from the ledge and walking over to the rest of the Losers. “They d-ditched the tracker.” Bill adds softly and Eddie scowls even more, stopping to stand next to Mike as the rest joined them as well.

“Could've told you they would.” Eddie mutters, and Mike just brushes against his shoulder, offering him a small smile. Eddie appreciated the gesture, could always count on Mike to be the calm but steady voice of reason in their group, but he couldn’t get himself to return the smile, mind still whirling.

Bev huffs next to him, wiping blood from under her nose whilst looking at him with a sceptical look.

Because of course she did, she was always the one to first notice when something was wrong, when something was bothering him. She seemed to have a knack for noticing that stuff, to the point where some of the Losers even suspected if it was part of her power, but to no avail.

Eddie shakes his head slightly, as a way to tell her it would come later. Bev frowns behind the mask, absently accepting a tissue she got from Ben and pressing it to her still bleeding nose. It was clear that Patrick had gotten a good few punches in, but Bev was tough, and wasn’t that bothered.

“Let’s just get back to the compound-” Ben offers, and the team nods silently. Bev gave him one last concerned look, but Eddie ignored it, too wrapped up in his own mind. It just didn’t make sense, he had been able to control his powers for so long now, never had any problems or malfunctions.

And now in a few days’ time he had his powers malfunction twice, both because Pitch was there.

The two had to be related to each other. Maybe it was because Eddie wanted to believe there was a reason, but he couldn’t just accept it was because their powers were opposites from each other. It wouldn’t make sense either way. They had people working at Imperium with opposite powers.

One ice and fire, but they didn’t have the same effect, their powers didn’t blow up, their powers didn’t _not_ work on each other. They would simply cancel each other out normally. Like fire melting ice, and water distinguishing fire. Their powers didn’t explode, didn’t blow up in their faces.

So it had to be something different.

“What happened out there?” Stan asks sharply as they walk back into the compound. Eddie huffs, following the rest of the Losers in the med bay. Bev was still holding her nose with the tissue, blood coating it. The rest had minor injuries as well, but nothing too bad luckily, Eddie didn’t need _that_ on top of that as well.

Eddie hops onto one of the gurneys, staring down at his feet. He frowns slightly, trying to organise his thoughts.

“I fought with Pitch again today,” Eddie starts slowly, ignoring as the rest of the Losers pull out medical supplies. Bev grabs more gauze, pinching her nose tightly and sitting down, glancing at him.

“I take it it didn’t go well?” Mike says, glancing up for a moment from Bill. The boy had three cuts on his arm, bleeding slowly but steadily due to Henry’s powers. Eddie sighs, shaking his head.

“What happened?” Stan asks as Eddie stays silent, grabbing ice from the freezer to ice his wounds. There was a considerable amount of dirt on his uniform and skin, that he didn’t seem too happy about, but his focus was on Eddie instead, and making sure his team was as okay as they could be.

Eddie sighs again. “There was another explosion when our powers touched, but stronger this time-” Eddie starts, looking up at the rest. “I was thrown back a bit but when I looked up I was somewhere else. I wasn’t at the docks anymore, and I couldn’t even hear you guys anymore.”

“You transported?” Stan frowns, furrowing his brow. Eddie shakes his head.

“I thought so too as first, but that’s the weird part, I don’t think I went anywhere, it was just in my head,” He quickly explains, but how could he explain something he didn’t understand himself? “I was in some kind of forest I think, but it almost seemed like a dream, like it wasn’t real.”

“So what d-did you see?” Bill asks, hissing in pain when Mike cleans the wound on his arm, refusing to look. Mike had peeled back the layers of his costume in the meantime, fully exposing the wounds. It wasn’t often that Bill got hurt, his powers making it really hard for others to even see him.

It wasn’t a form that was easy to maintain for longer periods of time, but he was able to completely disappear into thin air. Georgie had called it his ‘nobody’ form when they first discovered it, the complete opposite of what his hero name turned out to; Anyman. Fitting as he could shift into anyone.

He couldn’t replicate powers perfectly, could only mimic them like a poor copy, but sometimes that was enough to convince people.

The other problem with his powers was his voice, and something Bill had struggled with a lot over the past few years. He was able to shift his vocal cords if he tried hard enough, but it took a lot more out of him, and often left him exhausted. But he could do it; which was the most important part.

But he didn’t get hit a lot with him being able to turn invisible, so it was strange to see him get hit.

The only time he had truly been injured was when Georgie had been attacked by unknown people. It wasn’t Nox, that much was clear to them. But there was this girl trying to capture Georgie, not even a few months ago, and Bill was there as a civilian, couldn’t risk exposing his powers.

Which is how he ended up being injured whilst protecting Georgie, leaving him in the hospital for a few days and Georgie with deep gashes on his arm that messed it up quite badly, but he was alive, which was all that mattered.

“I saw something like a house, I don’t know what it was exactly, but it looked like it. It was made of steel I think, completely grey with no windows. I had no clue how I got there or why, so I decided to scope out the place. And there was this boy in a room, with an adult I didn’t recognise at first.” Eddie says, frowning to himself.

Bev sat down closer to him, always the one to comfort him, and now acting as a source of strength. They had always been close, had been from the start even if they hadn’t known each other for a long time. He had been with the Losers the shortest amount of time, not much shorter than Bev but still.

And maybe that’s what made Eddie like Bev so much, she knew where he was coming from.

“What did you see?” Bev asks, staring at him. It was the same soft but steady voice she had used on him when they first met, when he was still wary around others, wary of the heroes and didn’t trust them enough to stay still. It was at that point that he _knew_ his mom was full of shit, and yet he couldn’t shake off the hatred for heroes that she had.

He simply didn’t know who to trust, what to believe, so he went out on his own. He started training by himself, sometimes he would meet others on the street but never people like him. And he spend a good few months living on the streets, trying to survive and helping as much as he could.

Which in turn put him on the radar of Imperium, but Eddie had always managed to evade them, until the Losers were tasked with finding him. It wasn’t easy to trust others he didn’t know, not after all the horror his mom had put him through, but he took a leap of faith with Beverly and never regretted it.

“I didn’t want to be seen so I tried to stay hidden, but then someone just walked straight _through_ me-”

“So it was a dream?” Stan asks but Eddie shakes his head again.

“No it felt different than a dream, but I wasn’t there, no,” Eddie explains, which seems to make sense to Stan, as much as that could be. “It was then that I realised who the two adults were, it was Algos and Statera.” Or better known as Wentworth and Maggie Tozier for some.

Eddie could see mild shock passing over the faces of the Losers, and Stan narrowed his eyes further, clearly thinking.

“What were they doing?” Ben asks softly.

“They were hurting the boy I think-”

“You t-think?” Bill asks, frowning as Mike pulls the first stitch through his arm. Eddie rubs the bridge of his nose.

“No they were, I’m just-” He stops himself, shaking his head to clear it. The memory was so strange to him, the whole experience was. He didn’t know what it was, a memory, a vision of the future, a possible scenario, alternative timeline? But why show him? Why was he shown these images?

Eddie startles slightly as a hand was placed on his shoulder, and he looks up to Beverly smiling softly at him.

“Deep breaths.” She tells him, and Eddie nods shakily, only now realising his light headed he feels. The urge to grab his inhaler rising. It was something he hadn’t been able to shake off now more than a year ago. His mom always tried to get him to believe he was sick, that he was fragile.

And one of the things she made him use was an inhaler.

“They were hurting him with their powers, I don’t know why but they made him cut himself on his arm and then Algos amplified it-” Eddie whispers, cringing at the memory. “I’ve never heard a boy scream that loud and then grow so quiet seconds later, I can’t even imagine the pain he was in.” Eddie shudders, and Bev squeezes his shoulder.

Eddie almost didn’t want to rethink… didn’t want the image stuck in his head, or imagine how much pain the boy must’ve been in to not even be able to scream, to be in so much pain that screaming wasn’t an option anymore.

“Did you know the boy?” Mike asks, and Eddie can appreciate how steady his presence felt, how safe and comforting it was.

“I wasn’t in there long enough. I mean I knew it was fake, that they couldn’t see me but I still tried to help the boy, and when I did there was this bright flash again, and I was back on the docks,” Eddie says, looking up. “Pitch seemed to be waking up from something similar-”

“Which would make sense since your powers are doing whatever it is they’re doing.” Stan spoke and Eddie nods.

“The question is just; why?” He adds, feeling frustration bubble up inside of him.

“B-Ben, Mike?” Bill asks, looking at the two, but both of them shake their heads.

“We haven’t found anything yet.” Mike says, which only made Eddie’s skin itch even more. He _hated_ not knowing, he hated that this was happening to him. He was fine with his powers, he accepted them, he was finally starting to put Sonia’s abuse somewhere, accept that she was still out there somewhere.

That he essentially hadn’t seen his mom for close to 17 months; but he hated not knowing why his powers were acting up, or why he was seeing these weird visions of this little boy.

Eddie frowns slightly, biting at his lip as he glances at the rest of the Losers with a guilty expression; a boy he recognised a little too well as Pitch.

*

*

*

Richie stood rigid in front of his parents, but he couldn’t get himself to focus on the conversation. The mission had been successful, not like he could really get himself to care, he just wanted to go to his room, be done with this done, be done with his parents and the whole organisation.

But he couldn’t, his parents would kill him if he ever tried.. they made that abundantly clear when he expressed his doubt the last time, and he got the scars to prove it for.

“Richard!” Someone suddenly yelled, and Richie stumbles, head whirling. Richie’s legs give out, and he crashes to the ground, feeling his stomach turn at the violent turning. Richie moans under his breath, squeezing his eyes shut. He knew his mom… knew her powers and how they worked.

So eventually he felt the grip she had on his mind, making it spin so violently, waver.

Richie takes a deep but shaky breath, rising to his feet as quickly as possible and looking up to his parents, watching his mother as she stared at him with a cold gaze that she also used on her worst enemies, right before she literally tipped them over to death with her powers after his dad would torture them.

They were a deadly duo in the past, now only limited by age. His dad with the power to amplify pain as he wished, and while many feared his dad the most for his power, it was his mom that had the most dangerous one, especially when she used her powers after his father did.

She could balance everything, tip tangible things over if she wanted to, but it also went a lot further than that. She could tip over people’s minds if they doubted something, could make them believe one thing of the other. She could disorientate you so that you wouldn’t know what was up and down.

But the worst was that she had the power to tip someone over to death if they were close enough to it.

“Anything you would like to say Richard?” Maggie says coldly, staring at him. Richie groans as his head starts to spin just slightly, but enough for her to make a point. She knew he was hiding something, not because she could read her mind; he would’ve died long ago if she could do that.

But because she raised him, and could see when he was hiding stuff.

Richie nods, taking a deep breath and looking up to Febris, the woman that was still sitting next to his parents. The fat woman that reeked of sweat and misery; that only sat in her chair and made everyone’s life miserable, and who was only focused on one thing, the one reason why she joined Nox.

Richie looked up to Febris, looked up at Sonia. “I saw your son.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter there'll be more action! And we might even see Richie and Eddie forced to work together? :3
> 
> Let me know what you guys thought of this chapter, comments will be used to fuel my inspiration :D


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Throughout the chapter I'll refer to both Richie and Eddie as .. well Richie and Eddie but so far they're not away of each other's identities. It's just easier to call them Richie and Eddie instead of Pitch and Luminance. 
> 
> Oh and I forgot last chapter but ItsyBitsyBatsySpider drew this beautiful picture of my story!! [ItsyBitsyBatsySpider](https://itsybitsybatsyspider.tumblr.com/post/622755663604596736/a-field-of-paper-flowers-chapter-1-arithese)
> 
> Aside from that, enjoy the chapter!

“You’re distracted-” Bev says in a sharp voice, staring at him. Eddie frowns, two light daggers appearing from his hands and throwing them at Beverly. The red headed girl easily dodges them, diving low to the ground before running at him. Eddie jolts slightly, but he anticipates just as quickly.

Bev jumps up, barrelling straight at him. Eddie quickly side steps, conjuring another dagger and swiping at Beverly, already knowing she would be too fast for him to hit her. The dagger barely misses her, back bending almost unnaturally to dodge it and she quickly jumps over it, striking out.

Eddie can just barely dodge, but Bev takes the opportunity to jump at him again, placing her hands on his shoulders and pushing herself off, high enough for her to wrap her legs around his stomach and turning herself onto his back. Eddie gets another dagger, trying to stab Beverly but she snatches his wrist, squeezing tightly.

And then Eddie felt her teeth sinking into his wrist.

“You lost.” Bev states after pulling back, and Eddie sighs. He stays steady as Bev slides off his back, knowing that she was right. He had lost, and if Bev had used her venom, he would’ve been unable to keep fighting. They had antidotes all over the compound, but they usually weren’t necessary anymore.

At first she would only sometimes be venomous, and sometimes it just wouldn’t work, she couldn’t control it when Eddie met her. Or rather, when Bev tracked him down. But now she could decide herself when she wanted her bite to be venomous, and while she didn’t make it venomous during training;

They both knew that when Bev bit you, you lost.

“Spill it Kaspbrak.” Bev huffs, throwing him a towel, which Eddie gratefully accepts. He wipes at his face, removing the sweat from his forehead.

“Who says I’m distracted?” Eddie scowls, and Bev deadpans at him.

“Says me-” Bev retorts with a knowing gaze, and Eddie huffs again for good measure. He knew he was distracted, but he wasn’t about to admit that to Beverly. He was fine, he could get over it himself. He was grateful for Bev’s concern sure, but his old ways, the abuse of his mom still lingered.

Even though _that_ had taken him a long time to accept as well.

He didn’t want to accept that it was abuse, that his mother didn’t just want the best for him. He truly believed that he was sick, had made him believe he was for years. But it had all been a lie, it had all been in his head. And even when he realised that, and he ran away, he still didn’t view it as abuse.

But apparently being forced to shave your head, being hit, being fed countless medicine, isolated from everyone and everything, and so much more that Eddie hadn’t even told the Losers… apparently that was abuse, and it had taken him almost a year before he could accept it.

That his mom abused him, and didn’t just care for him in her own way.

He was used to keeping things to himself, so he could keep the memory of a few weeks to himself as well. He could pretend that the little boy was unknown to him, that he had no idea who he was. Even though there was no way that this boy wasn’t Pitch, and his parents were anything but loving.

What did it mean? Did it mean that Pitch also saw-

Eddie was snapped out of his thoughts when an alarm sounds, red light flashing through the room.

“Time to go-” Bev groans, eyeing at Eddie as a way to tell him that this conversation was far from over. Eddie nods, turning around to follow Bev out of the room. It wasn’t often that they got code red, so clearly something bad had happened. “What’s wrong?” Bev asks the moment she gets to the common area.

The rest of the Losers were already in the room, watching as Bev and Eddie arrived. Bill was already behind the computer, typing quickly and pulling up everything he could find.

“There have b-been explosions all over t-t- the area, 11 different locations,” Bill starts, pulling up a shaky video, clearly shot on a smartphone. Eddie narrows his eyes, walking a little closer to the screen.

“How cliché-” Stan frowns, staring at the dark cloud like circle around the building.

“What is it?” Eddie asks, but Bill looks up to him with a lost expression.

“We d-don’t know,” He says. “The r-rest of the teams are to t-these locations-” Bill continues, showing 9 of the 11 locations crossed out, leaving only two locations.

“Teams of three?” Bev asks, and Bill nods.

“S-Stan, Mike and I. And Bev, Ben and Eddie. Have s-someone on look-out,” Bill says, which was all everyone needed to know before they hurried to the lockers to change into their uniforms. Bev brushed past Eddie, glancing at him.

“You’re on look-out-” Bev says softly, and Eddie just rolls his eyes, knowing why she did it, so he didn’t protest.

*

*

*

It wasn’t cold per se, but there was a chilly wind blowing around him, manipulating his hair, pulling it in all directions. He stares up at the destruction around him, it was chaos on the streets, which was understandable with the sight in front of him, he would be the same if he wasn’t trained for this.

It looked a lot less impressive from here though, a lot smaller than it seems on the videos. But the truth was still that there was a dark cloud circling the building, and that two of his teammates were inside.

Eddie tenses suddenly, narrowing his eyes behind his glasses that hid his eyes. He shifts slightly, just barely noticeable and he whirls around all too quickly, conjuring a dagger when he did so and throwing it immediately. His eyes followed the dagger, watching it soar through air before disappearing.

“You still try Lu Lu?” Pitch grins, stepping forwards and taking off the cloak from his head. Eddie scowls, conjuring two more daggers even when he knew it wouldn’t work on Pitch, but it gave him a sense of control.

“What are you doing here?” Eddie snaps, muscles tensing up. Pitch raises his arms up, like a surrender.

“For the same thing as you-” Richie says, gesturing to the cloud circling the building. “To stop that.”

“And why should I believe you?” Eddie bites back, and Richie grins at the remark, raising an eyebrow at him, which only made Eddie scowl even more.

“Because I know what you guys are up against.”

“And you care why? For all I know you’re torturing puppies in your basement.” Eddie snaps back, almost surprised when Richie almost looked hurt for a second, before shrugging nonchalantly.

“Because this _thing_ will destroy the world if you let it, and I’m one of the idiots living in this world.” Richie says, and Eddie reluctantly drops his daggers, straightening up.

“What do you know?” Eddie asks, and that seemed to put Richie at ease a little bit as well, straightening up and walking over to Eddie. Eddie tenses again, but Richie just side eyes him, looking at the edge of the building.

“His name is Pennywise, an ancient being that came to earth thousands of years ago. Nobody knows exactly what happened but at some point in time he was defeated, but not destroyed. There is a secret organisation, they call themselves the deadlights -I know, super cliché- but they are trying to wake it up.” Richie says, waving off Eddie’s scowl at the name.

“Why?” Eddie asks. “Or rather; how?”

“Why; they want to see the world end, they think Pennywise is some kind of prophesy that we should allow to ravish the earth. And how; you can see that here, 12 locations over the city, where he was defeated.”

“Wait, did you say 12?” Eddie asks, and Richie grins knowingly.

“There’s one you can’t see, the main headquarters.” Richie says, and Eddie narrows his eyes at him.

“Awfully convenient, isn’t it?” Eddie snaps back, and Richie just grins.

“If it makes you feel any better, my dear old parents don’t know where I am either, they would risk burning the world down if it means defeating you. I’m going either way, but I don’t think I can do this alone.” Richie says, and Eddie stares at him for a short time, before sighing.

“If you kill me I’m killing you-” Eddie reluctantly agrees.

*

*

*

“Can you get us in there?” Eddie asks, crossing his arms. Richie looks at him with a big grin, shaking his head.

“Only places I’ve been before or places I can see,” Richie states, and Eddie frowns at that.

“So how far can you teleport?” He asks, knowing that he may just as well get a defensive answer. Because Eddie realised how quickly he found himself joking with Richie, how quickly he found himself feeling comfortable, before realising that Richie was his enemy, albeit an enemy of an enemy right now.

They were working together, but they weren’t allies.

But Richie just snickers. “I can’t just teleport all the way back if I want to, I could maybe cover like a 300 feet, even if I’ve seen it before.” Richie explains, seemingly no care in the world about revealing something to Eddie that he could use against him, but Eddie found himself not caring either.

“So getting us in through the window is out of the questions?” Eddie asks, and Richie frowns slightly, turning back to the building. Richie narrows his eyes to see better, turning back to Eddie with a shake of his head.

“It’s too dark, maybe if there was more light, and I was a little closer.” Richie explains, staring down at Eddie. The boy looks up at the windows again. It was pitch black, pun not intended, inside and no way to look at the inside. But the cameras that were all around, the guards and dogs surrounding it didn’t allow them to come close enough.

But Eddie could work with this, had been trained for this.

“Can you transport me?” Eddie asks, and Richie frowns even more, but eventually nods. “I will end you if you fuck me over here.” Eddie snaps, turning back to the window again and lifting his arm.

“Why would I fuck you over if I can just fu-” Richie starts but Eddie punches his shoulder, earning him a sharp cry in protest. “You wound me Lu Lu!” Richie cries out.

“Still not my name asshole, now shut up and get ready-” Eddie retorts, taking his eyes off Richie again and looking at the window. He narrows his eyes, feeling power build inside of him before conjuring two more daggers. He pulls his arm back, throwing one before quickly following up with the other.

The daggers soared through the air before colliding with the glass, not breaking it. Eddie narrowed his eyes more, focusing on the daggers before an explosion of light followed. Richie startles, eyes widening at the explosion, but the light was enough to expose the inside for a moment.

Richie quickly reaches out for Eddie, taking his wrist.

“All aboard the Pitch train, ready for take off-” Richie grins, and before Eddie could snap at him, Eddie felt himself disappear. That was the only thing he could think of to describe the feeling, he was just disappearing, vanishing into nothingness. And it only lasted a split-second, barely noticeable.

He appeared inside the building, eyes widening at the sight. “That was a lot less bad than I thought it would be,” Eddie mutters, brushing off his outfit more out of habit than necessity.

“What? You thought you were going to puke or something?” Richie teases but Eddie ignores it.

“Lead the way.” Eddie begrudgingly says. He didn’t like having to follow Richie’s lead but right now it was necessary.

Richie knew more than he did, Nox had been studying Deadlight for years, knew what they were doing, but also didn’t stop them. So Eddie kept an eye out, kept the possibility open that this was all some sort of elaborate scheme to capture him, and he would be prepared to fight if it was.

The hooded figure led him through the hallways, occasionally stopping himself to look around the area. There was a beeping in Eddie’s ear, but he ignored it, trying to focus on the task ahead, he didn’t need his team’s criticism on top of that either, but it seemed like Richie heard it.

“Don’t want to talk to them?” He asks light-heartedly, and Eddie frowns.

“Somehow I don’t think they would want me working with the enemy.” Eddie snaps back, and Richie grins.

“Enemy of my enemy is my friend right?” He chuckles, shaking his head in amusement. “Guess we’re both going rogue on this one.” He adds, and Eddie glances at him.

“So everyone in your team is a mindless sheep? Doing what your parents tell them to, even if that means letting the world be destroyed?” Eddie asks sharply, and Richie shrugs, nodding.

“Pretty much, except for Patrick though, he’s a creep. But the rest is stupid as fuck-” Riche snorts, clear distaste on his face. “Peter couldn’t even figure out when your team member was doing an imitation of Henry, what’s his name again? Anyman.” Richie says, and Eddie freezes slightly.

 _Bill_ , he meant _Bill_ , but he didn’t know that anyone knew of Bill’s power, they had tried to keep that a secret, to avoid people becoming too suspicious or making weird code names.

“You know about him?” Eddie gapes and Richie grins down at him.

“I wasn’t sure but you just confirmed it-” Richie says, and Eddie just… stares at him, blinking furiously even if Richie couldn’t see that. But Richie throws his head back, letting out a loud laugh. “I’m kidding Lu Lu, yes of course we knew, we’re not all stupid.”

“How?” Eddie asks, and Richie shrugs.

“The others can’t see but it’s so painfully obvious when he’s imitating someone, I can’t believe you never realise it.” Richie shoots back. “Sometimes I can’t believe how naive Imperium is, thinking we don’t know about some of your powers.” He snorts and Eddie rolls his eyes.

“And yet we’ve managed to beat you plenty of times.” Eddie retorts, ignoring the snicker that earned him from Richie. He ignored it, causing a short silence to fall over the two of them.

“So tell me more about you Lu Lu, are you as interesting as your mom was last night?” Richie suddenly starts, stopping for a moment to look around. Eddie gapes at him, feeling anger flare up.

“Don’t talk about my mom-” He hisses, which surprises Richie, and he looks him with raised eyebrows, mouth in an ‘o’ shape before chuckling again. “And I’m telling you nothing, we’re not friends, we’re not allies-”

“Aw c’mon Lu Lu, don’t be like that-” Richie interrupts but Eddie glares at him more, conjuring a dagger and pointing it at Richie. He knew the dagger wouldn’t do anything, but it was only to get a point across.

“You’re a villain, _Pitch_. You hurt me, you hurt my friends, you kill innocent people and you _enjoy_ it, and I’m only here because I don’t want the world to end. After this is over you better get the hell out because I will attack you, because I won’t hesitate bringing down Nox.” Eddie hisses sharply.

Richie winces at that, which confuses Eddie, why would he flinch at that? It was the truth, and a truth he was happy to admit probably. And maybe he thought Eddie was naive enough to change his mind about Nox, to somehow be persuaded to leave Imperium and to join Nox, and fight alongside him.

Eddie snorts to himself, _like that would even happen_.

“Such a little ball of fire, so cute.” Richie eventually shot back, but it lacked his usual enthusiasm. Not like he lingered on it, turning around and gesturing for Eddie to follow him again. They continued along the corridors, going down multiple stairs until Eddie was sure they were far below the ground.

They reached a door, bolted shut with heavy locks and Richie extended his hand, smoke appearing from it. Eddie watches warily, seeing the smoke fill the tiny space between the door and the wall before the lock suddenly vanished into thin air, only to clatter to the ground behind them.

Richie just grins in satisfaction, pushing open the door.

“Shit-” He curses, and Eddie realises it a second later, staring at the multiple guards. Eddie immediately jumped into action, and Richie teleported. And for a second Eddie was worried that this was it, this was the moment Richie revealed it was all a trap, but Richie quickly appeared again.

So Eddie focuses on his own set of guards, conjuring two daggers in each hand and jumping at them. He boosts his own speed, colliding with two guards at once and stabbing them quickly. The guards yell out but Eddie quickly jumps out of the way, swiping low and crashing them to the ground.

He jumps up, digging into his belt and throwing two bombs, throwing two daggers after them which causes them to explode. Electricity sizzled out of them, catching three guards in total. Eddie ran at another guard, ducking low as the guard tried to strike him, and Eddie struck out himself, hitting the head.

The guard reeled back, and Eddie raised his arm, light exploding from his palm. The guard yells in pain, grabbing his eyes. It wasn’t enough to blind permanently, but the light would blind him temporarily, which was enough for Eddie. He jumps over the guard, using his powers to lift him up more.

He rolls forwards, over the ground and coming up low between another guard, kicking him in the back hard enough to send him flying into the wall. Eddie whirls around, ready to fight more guards but he saw the rest of them down as well. Richie looked at him at the same moment, lowering his hood again.

Eddie frowns slightly at the guards, stepping over the one he rendered unconscious and lowering himself besides the guards Richie fought, putting his fingers on his neck.

“Let’s go-” Richie snaps, glaring at Eddie and turning back. Eddie frowns slightly, feeling a steady heartbeat below his fingers, and seeing the rest of guards still breathing steadily. Richie hadn’t killed them, they were still alive….

Eddie shook his head, pushing himself onto his feet and following Richie further down the hallways.

“Are you so surprised I didn’t kill them?” Richie eventually breaks the silence, not meeting Eddie’s gaze. His tone was sharp, accusing.

“Are you so surprised I thought so considering who you are?” Eddie retorts, frowning as he follows Richie. “Considering how your parents are?” Eddie adds, and Richie stops, turning around.

“Did you see something as well when we fought at the docks?” He asks, and Eddie can feel himself freeze. Of course he did…. of course he saw something as well. It was so logical, and yet Eddie had refused to believe Richie saw something about _him_ as well.

“As well?” Eddie croaks softly, hoping his voice wouldn’t give it away. But Richie didn’t react to the tone of his voice. Richie chuckles humorously.

“Of course you don’t know either-” He mutters, shaking his head. “I saw _something_ , I don’t know what. A woman with her son, he ate candy or something and she made him puke it up, it was mental.” Richie says, and Eddie can both feel himself tense and relax at the same time, and he shivers at the feeling.

Because that was _his_ memory, he remembered that all too well. And it was a memory he never wanted to think about again, and yet, Richie didn’t seem to realise that that was him. Which was a small relief right now.

“I saw you,” Eddie starts, mentally slapping himself for doing so. How likely was it that Richie would jump to the conclusion that if Eddie saw Richie, that he saw Eddie? Richie frowns at that, slowly stopping and turning to Eddie.

“I’m sorry you had to-” Richie whispers stoically, shaking his head and turning back to the corridor. “C’mon, in here.” He quickly changes the subject, turning to another door. He allows smoke to surround the lock again, transporting it to the side and pushing open the door with a heavy hiss.

Richie walks in first, quickly forcing on the two guards that were in the room and Eddie jumps forwards, light coming from his hands. The guards yell, throwing their hands up to protect their eyes and Richie use that moment to transport _behind_ the two and deliver two, but effective, blows.

The guards drop to the ground, _alive_ , immediately, and Richie was about to make another remark when he noticed the first cry resonating through the room. Eddie’s eyes widen behind his mask, whipping his head towards the sound and feeling his stomach turn at the sight.

Two kids were huddled in the corner of a prison cell, tears streaking down their faces, holding onto each other’s as if it was the only thing keeping them safe. Eddie immediately runs over to the cell, crouching down low and creating a dagger, which only earned him another scared yell.

“Hey it’s okay, I’m one of the good guys-” Eddie tries to smile, burning through the thick locks holding the cell closed. “I’m Luminance, maybe you know me, I’m a superhero.” He adds, and one of the girls perks up slightly at the name.

“Luminance?” She asks in a hopeful voice, and Eddie smiles kindly, nodding just seconds before opening the door.

“I’m here now, you guys are safe.” Eddie says, cautiously walking into the cell, staying low. But the knowledge that he was a superhero was enough for the two little girls, and they immediately fling themselves into Eddie’s arms. “Let’s get you two out of here okay?” He asks, helping them up gently.

The girls buried themselves in Eddie’s side, whimpering slightly.

“There is someone else-” One murmurs, and Eddie frowns, looking own to see the girl pointing to somewhere after him with a fearful expression. Eddie looks, and he can feel his heart leap as he sees Richie approaching the last cell, lock lying on the ground discarded like it was nothing.

Eddie grabs onto the little girls, dragging them out of the cell but he stops when he sees Richie crouching down low, taking off his cloak and sending the boy in cell a kind smile. But the boy just looked at him warily, a haunted expression on his face. He seems visibly worse off than the two girls.

Richie tries to reach out slowly, but the boy whimpers, curling into himself and crying out in fear. Eddie lets go of the girls, crouching down next to Richie and eying him for a moment.

“Hey we’re here to rescue you, we’re … we’re the good guys-” Eddie says, feeling Richie look at him. “I’m Luminance, do you know me?” But the boy just whimpers in response, shaking his head wildly but Eddie wasn’t sure if it was an answer to his question or a movement out of fear.

“What happened to him? What happened here?” Eddie asks, turning to Richie. The curly haired boy sighs, taking a deep breath.

“Rumour goes that Pennywise has a special…. diet-” Richie says, and that was all for Eddie to understand what Richie meant. He whirls his head back around, staring at the little girls and he almost felt sick just thinking about it. The thought that they were going to use these little girls as… bait?

He can feel anger boiling in his stomach, and he turns back to the boy.

“The clown?” The boy rasps, and Eddie looks at Richie in confusion, but Richie seemed to understand, nodding sadly.

“You saw him buddy?” Richie asks softly, and the boy whimpers, nodding. Richie sighs, hanging his head and turning to Eddie instead. “Pennywise’s form is a clown, they were close to bringing him back, we need to blow up this building if we want to stop them.” Richie speaks up.

Eddie frowns, but he knew too little of the situation so he nods.

“I promise we’ll protect you from now on, but I need you to be brave, can you do that?” Richie continues, shuffling a little closer but the boy whimpers, shaking his head furiously. Eddie turns back to the girls, feeling one tug at his costume.

“There was someone else,” One of them whispers with a sad look. “But Max didn’t come back, and he had blood on him.” She adds, and Eddie glances at the boy again, seeing dried blood on his clothes and skin. Richie didn’t seem as shocked, but it was clear that they both figured out what happened at the same time.

Pennywise had eaten another boy, Max apparently, and this boy had seen it happening.

“I can take it away-” Richie starts softly. “Do you want me to help you with your fear?” Richie asks, and the boy sniffles, looking up with tearful eyes. The little boy seems to think for a moment, before eventually nodding. Richie nods as well, shuffling closer again so he could reach out to touch the boy.

He turns back to Eddie, giving him a cheeky but sad grin. “Don’t attack me for this please, you can give me blue balls later-” Richie says, not waiting for a reaction before he touches the boy’s arm, and Richie’s eyes light up, turning completely white. Eddie tenses, and the girls cry out, huddling closer.

But it only lasted a few seconds before something black appeared from the boy’s arms, black veins quickly traveling to the spot where Richie was touching and travelling into Richie’s body. Only a few seconds, that’s all it took for Richie to shudder, taking back his am and gasping slightly.

The boy sniffs, blinking up at Richie. His body seemed to relax immediately, and wipes at his tears with tiny hands.

“You’re so brave.” Richie grins, and the boy smiles softly at him. “Do you want to get on my back?” He asks, and the boy nods, slowly making his way to Richie’s back, climbing on. Richie’s hands reach back, holding the boy and standing up. He adjusts the hold a bit, so he doesn’t have to hold up the boy himself.

He still hooks his hands under him just to be sure, and Eddie could only stare for a moment at the gentle way Richie was treating this child. And Richie doesn’t seem to notice Eddie’s staring, giving the boy one last reassuring squeeze before turning back to Eddie instead.

“What do you think about blowing up a building?”

“You’re a hazard to society-” Eddie shoots back, grabbing the hands of the little girls and sighing. “But let’s do this.” He adds, which causes Richie to grin brightly, nodding as well. But before either of them could wonder how the hell they were going to find the room they needed to go through, a voice interrupted them.

“Step away from the children.” A man threatens, pointing a gun at them. The girls and boy whimper loudly, which only enrages Eddie even more.

“Why?” Richie bites back, and the man cocks the gun as a good measure, narrowing his eyes.

“I won’t hesitate to shoot you, so I will ask you one more time; step away from the children.” The man says but Eddie shakes his head, pushing the two kids behind him as a way to shield them.

“We won’t let you kill them.” Eddie bites back, and the man grins, snapping his fingers and before Eddie knew what was going on, two girls approached the first man. One girl had curly dirty blonde hair, pulled into a tight ponytail. Eddie narrowed his eyes, she seemed familiar, like he had seen her somewhere before. The other one had an equally tight ponytail, dark brown colour.

“You’re about 24 children too late for that-” The man replies, taking a step back. Eddie can feel anger boiling in his stomach, hands itching.

“You’re a monster-” Eddie hisses, but the man doesn’t seem to bothered by it.

“Greta, take care of that-” The man speaks, taking another step back to allow the two girls more space.

“Yes dad-” One of the girls, Greta, says, the one with the curly hair. There was a second where none of them moved, before Greta suddenly lifted her arms, shooting _something_ out of it, before immediately running at them afterwards.

Richie jolts slightly, all too aware of the child still on his back. Richie frowns, sparing Eddie one quick glance before evaporating into the shadows. The boy cries out in fear, tightening his arms around his neck. He appears to the side, and he can see the other girl moving towards Eddie instead.

Greta whirls around, turning to him and attacking again. Something shot out of her hands, and Richie had no desire to figure out what it was. He jumps again, trying to appear behind her as close as possible. Greta whirls around, throwing more of the stuff and jumping at him immediately after.

Richie wasn’t fast enough, and Greta jumps on top of him, hooking her legs around him and throwing him down. Richie yells, fading away again but the second he does he realises that the boy wasn’t with him anymore. Richie’s eyes widen behind the cloak, seeing Greta throw something at the boy.

Richie didn’t think, disappearing into the shadows in front of the boy, putting out his arms as a shield. Smoke appears from his body, but it wasn’t quick enough, liquid landing on his stomach. Immediately he understood what the liquid was, and he cries out in pain as acid burns through his cloak, onto his skin.

He sucks in a breath, grabbing the boy and disappearing into the shadows again.

The boy whimpers loudly, fearful eyes looking up at him. Richie tries to smile through the pain, tears burning in his eyes. He turns around again, trying to locate Greta. He jumps again, appearing behind her and striking out. Greta yells in pain, throwing her arm back and throwing more acid.

Richie jumps through the shadows, appearing to the boy again.

“Pitch!” Eddie yells out, and Richie snaps his head towards him, seeing Eddie strike at the girl, the ponytail girl, whose nails had grown considerably, striking at them like they were knives. His eyes widen behind his mask, jumping in front of the girls and desperately blocking the attack, girls both crying out.

Richie narrowed his eyes, disappearing and appearing behind Eddie, grabbing the two girls and transporting back to the boy. He looks up quickly, seeing Eddie jump at Ponytail, now without any restrictions. Richie almost grins as he sees Eddie sweep low, causing Ponytail to crash to the ground immediately.

But she was good, and she rolls over the ground, swiping at Eddie. But Richie wasn’t able to see what happens, as Greta runs at him again. Richie snaps his head back, eyes narrowing. Greta threw more acid at him, and he threw his arm up, shadows appearing from his own body.

Richie cringes as the acid hits, the pain not the same as acid hitting skin, but it still hurt. Greta took advantage of that, running through the smoke and jumping at him. Richie jumps out of the way, appearing behind her and whirling around, sending Greta into the wall with a loud thud.

Greta yells loudly, abruptly cutting off as her head snaps against concrete.

Richie looks up at the three kids, seeing them huddled together with fearful eyes, latching onto each other. But they were fine, they were okay and still living, which was enough for now for Richie, and he looks up at Eddie again, who seemed to be handling Ponytail just fine for now.

But they had to end this as quickly as possible. So Richie disappears into the shadow, appearing on top of Ponytail. For a moment Richie locked eyes with Eddie, or as much as he could with the glasses in the way, and he knew that Eddie thought the exact same thing as him; Richie had never been able to transport this close.

But it didn’t matter, the distraction caused Ponytail to look up, startled, and that was enough for Eddie to swipe at the girl. Her eyes roll into the back of her head immediately. Richie transports next to Eddie, glancing at him. But before he could say anything, could either of them say anything, a terrified cry sounds.

Richie’s eyes widen, staring at the boy in Greta’s grip, blood streaming down the side of her face as she looks at them with furious eyes.

“Hands up Losers-” She says, shaking the boy wildly. She holds up a free hand, acid bubbling up. Richie narrowed his eyes, eyeing at Eddie for a quick second, but it was clear that he was just as mad as he was. Richie didn’t even communicate, didn’t wait for a confirmation but just acted.

He threw his hand up, smoke exploding from his hand and covering the whole room. Eddie moved quickly, jumping forwards, and shooting daggers out of his hands. They shot out, jabbing towards Greta. And they would’ve hit if she hadn’t jumped out of the way, abandoning the boy.

Her eyes widen, and Richie could feel fear radiating off her, but it still wasn’t enough. Richie teleports behind Greta, causing her to whirl around, eyes widening. Eddie runs forwards, conjuring two more daggers and swiping at her. Greta throws more acid, multiple attacks but Richie just swallows them up into the darkness.

He raises his arms, shadows growing closer and closer. Eddie uses the darkness to his advantage, light more powerful, more precise. He could feel the power, itching at his skin, and it felt _good_. He felt powerful, in control. Greta’s eyes were fearful, throwing more acid and Eddie blocks the attacks.

She jumped out of the way just as Richie tries to attack, rolling over the ground and throwing acid at the kids instead. The two girls cry out in fear and Eddie was just in time to jump in front of them, creating a shield of light. He grunts, catching the attack with a loud bang, dropping it right after.

Greta’s heart leaped, fear radiating off her, and it was enough.. she was afraid enough. Richie smirks below his hood, jumping in front of her and allowing shadows to overtake himself. Eddie watched with wide eyes, almost feeling Greta’s fear throughout the room it seemed like.

Richie rose up higher, covered in darkness before it shot forwards, grabbing Greta and pulling her in with a loud yell.

Richie fell back down, landing on his feet and shadows pulling back in. Greta was gone, nowhere in sight.

“NO!” A voice cries out, and Eddie was just in time to see the same man, the father of Greta, raise his gun, firing at them. Richie immediately grabs Eddie, transporting them in front of the kids. The gun shot rang through the room, causing the kids to cry out in fear again but Eddie ignores it.

“You monster!” Eddie hisses, sucking in air and blasting himself forwards. The man shoots again, and again, and again, but Eddie throws up his arm, creating a shield of light around him. The darkness was still wrapped around him, fuelling him, amplifying his powers to a level he had never been at.

But he didn’t have time to think about it, landing in front of the man and striking out. Richie watched with wide eyes, one arm reached out towards the children, and the other one ready to fight. But the moment Eddie touches the man, both their eyes lit up, bodies freezing instantly at the contact.

It only lasted a few seconds before Eddie pulls back, and the man drops to the ground, staring _nowhere_ with eyes void of any emotion.

Eddie breathes heavily, staring down at the man with disgust written on his face. Richie frowns, allowing the shadows around him to grow again, before Greta fell out, dropping to the ground.

“Well he sure overreacted, he could’ve just waited two more seconds.” Richie snorts, but frowning when Eddie didn’t react. Richie hesitantly bends down, allowing the boy to climb on his back again and taking the girls’ hands, walking up to Eddie.

“Lu Lu?” Richie asks, frowning slightly but Eddie shook his head.

“He deserved it-” Eddie shoots back. “And don’t call me that.” Richie chuckles, shrugging.

“Can’t argue with that, but damn-” Richie breathes out, stopping when he realises the little kids. “What did you do?” Eddie eyes down at the man, and for a moment Richie thinks he isn’t going to get an answer from him.

“I took his hope-” Eddie breathes out, turning back to Richie fully. “I saw where we have to go, c’mon.” Eddie says eventually, completely changing the subject and Richie follows him. Because Richie honestly couldn’t care less about what Eddie had just done to this man, he deserved everything he got.

So he ignored it, and they run through the corridors, Eddie taking the lead this time. They weren’t running too fast, so the girls could keep up with them.

But there wasn’t much space to cover anyways, and they quickly enter another room.

“This is it-” Eddie says, leading the girls into the room. It was a steel door, heavy locks on the inside for only one good reason, keeping someone out. And looking around the room, Richie could guess why. He had no idea what they were exactly, but he didn’t need to to understand that this could all cause one big explosion.

“So how do we do this?” Richie asks, and Eddie walks towards the machines, frowning slightly before taking out something out of his uniform.

“We set it off by using this, it will overload the system, and it will explode on its own.” Eddie says , and Richie nods.

“I’ll do it-” Richie says, and Eddie whirls around to look at him with confusion. Richie rolls his eyes, allowing some smoke to linger around him, which seems to be enough for Eddie to understand _why_ Richie would. Because he could jump himself in and out the easiest out of the two of them.

Eddie sighs, nodding. “Let me figure out the best spot, and then we’ll get out first.” Eddie says, glancing at the girls for a quick moment before walking closer to the machines. Richie watches him, absently lowering the boy from his back. He was about to move closer to Eddie when he heard something.

Then; a lot happened.

The three children both cried out in fear, trying to get Richie’s attention. Richie whirls around, looking at the entrance and seeing numerous men and women run up to of them from the end of the corridor, carrying guns and other weapons, and he could see them pointing it at them.

Richie moves without thinking, jumping into the shadows and appearing next to the door, slamming it shut just as bullets ricocheted towards them. Richie winces, locking the door quickly and whirling around. The children were crying again, but they were standing, not looking injured.

Eddie hisses, and Richie frowns, jumping again next to Eddie. The masked boy flinches, taking a step back from him.

“Show me-” Richie tries, seeing blood coat Eddie’s arm.

“It’s a graze, I’m fine.” Eddie bites back, lifting his hand to show the wound and jumping slightly when he heard a loud bang outside the door. “We have bigger problems, that’s not going to hold long, and we can’t fight-” Eddie says, glancing at the three little kids. Richie bit his lip, knowing Eddie was right.

There was no way they could handle fighting so many whilst also protecting the little kids.

“I can transport us outside-” Richie starts, and Eddie frowns.

“Can you?” He bites back, more sceptical than angry. Richie sighs, nodding. “Sure?”

“Yes Lu Lu I’m sure.” Richie rolls his eyes, but this only caused Eddie to glare even more, startling out of it as another bang sounded.

“Excuse me for wanting to make sure you’re not going to kill all of us in the explosion.” He snaps back, turning to the machines. Richie turns to the kids instead, crouching down so the boy could climb on his back again, and taking the hands of the two little girls.

“So will this work?” Richie asks, walking up to him. Eddie bites his lip, nodding and stepping back and conjuring a dagger.

“When I throw this it’ll set everything off,” Eddie says, turning around. “Are you absolutely sure you can get us out?” Eddie snaps again, and Richie nods.

“I wouldn’t say so otherwise, wouldn’t want to miss a chance to get you in my be-” Richie starts, grinning as Eddie throws a dagger at him. The dagger dissolves immediately, but Richie got the message. He chuckles, releasing the girls for a moment to pull the cloak back up, hiding his face in the shadows.

“Just don’t let go of me.” Richie eventually says, whirling around as another bang sounded, and the door creaked. “Not like I don’t love spending time with you Lu Lu but if we can just-”

“Yes I got it.” Eddie interrupts him, taking a step back and grabbing onto Richie’s shoulder tightly, turning back to the machine and conjuring another dagger. Another loud bang sounded, but Eddie only focused on throwing the dagger. And the moment it leaves Eddie’s hand, Richie jumps.

Eddie felt the familiar smooth pull of Richie’s transportation, and it only lasted a split second before they were on the rooftops again. Richie heaves, stumbling away from the rest of them. He sucks in a breath, spluttering, but they were on the rooftop, they were safe. And Eddie could hear the dull explosion from inside the building.

“Sure looks like you can transport us all,” Eddie retorts, walking up to Richie, who was still coughing painfully, and Eddie could see him wiping at his forehead before straightening up, grinning below his hood.

“I got you out didn’t I?” Richie grins, still a little breathlessly. Eddie lingers for a moment, before turning back to the kids.

“Give me a second, don’t move-” Eddie says, reaching for the kids again.

Eddie wasn’t really sure what he expected to see when he returned to the rooftop again. He almost expected Richie to be gone when he came back, after all, what was the reason that Richie would stay? It would only put him at a risk of being captured, but it seemed like Richie hadn’t thought of that.

The rest of the Losers didn’t even know where Eddie was exactly, all they knew was that he was safe, and so were they. They weren’t happy with Eddie’s disappearance, but it was enough for now. And Eddie swiftly climbs back onto the roof, gaze immediately focused on Richie’s back.

“You’re still here-” Eddie says, walking up to Richie, who was sitting on the edge of the roof, legs dangling over the edge.

“You asked me to right?” Richie chuckles, glancing up at Eddie as he walks closer to him. “How’s your arm?” He asks, and Eddie frowns slightly, glancing down at his arm. The bleeding had stopped already, blood coating his otherwise white uniform, Eddie touches it carefully, hissing slightly.

Richie chuckles, shaking his head.

“We were a good team though-” Richie laughs, and Eddie sighs, nodding reluctantly.

“You’re still a criminal Pitch.” Eddie frowns, instead of responding to Richie’s remarks. Richie turns back to the street, hiding his face from Eddie.

“Yeah of course,” Richie says, chuckling again. “Well, looking forward to fighting you again next time I see you Lu Lu!” He laughs.

“That’s still not my-” Eddie starts, but Richie quickly salutes, disappearing into the shadows. “name.” Eddie finishes into thin air. He lingers for a moment more, looking at the spot where Richie had just been in. Eddie almost felt an emptiness, not having Richie around him, he felt empty.

Eddie runs a quick hand through his hair, sighing again. Today was _weird_ to say the least. They had been so much stronger together. Eddie could feel his attacks being easier, stronger, and reaching further than ever before when he was near Richie, and even Richie seemed surprised at his powers.

And yet he hadn’t seem surprised when he literally swallowed Greta up in the darkness. But that made no sense, if he had such a powerful attack, why wouldn’t he use it more often?

Eddie knew why _he_ didn’t, knew why he held back sometimes with other people. Today was the first time in so long that he took away someone’s hope like that, knowing it would leave them catatonic for days, months, sometimes even years. That’s why he didn’t use it often, unless the person deserved it.

And Eddie found that someone torturing and sacrificing little kids for the destruction of the entire world was deserving it.

But Pitch was a villain, he should have no problem with it; so why hadn’t he used it before?

Eddie sighs, shaking his head as pain intensifies in his arm, and an ache started to act up in his body. So he hesitantly lifts his hand to his communicator, letting the rest of the Losers know where he was. But they didn’t need to know about who he worked with today, not before he figured this out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Richie - Pitch - Shadow powers  
> Eddie - Luminance - Light powers  
> Bill - Anyman - Transform + unknown aspect of power  
> Stan - Osprey - Eagle like powers  
> Bev - Loris - Flexible + poisonous bite  
> Mike - Spirit - Animal spirits  
> Ben - Brawn - Super Strenght
> 
> Wentworth - Algos - Amplify and detect pain  
> Maggie - Statera - Balance things  
> Sonia - Febris
> 
> Nox - Bad guys  
> Imperium - Good guys
> 
> Henry - Knife powers  
> Patrick - Stretchy  
> Vic - Ice powers  
> Belch - Rock armour  
> Peter - Senses


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to thank you all for these amazing comments!! <3 You guys are the best, and because I live to serve, here's another chapter :3

“Holy fuck, Eddie!” Bev exclaims as Eddie walks into the briefing room, rushing towards the boy and pulling him into a hug. Eddie yelps, body tensing but he stays still, allowing Bev to hug him tightly. “What the fuck were you thinking?!” She adds, pulling out of the hug and slapping him.

“Ow Bev!” Eddie cries out, holding his arm and glaring at her.

“We were worried sick about you-” Bev retorts, and Eddie glances up at the rest of the Losers, all present in the room and looking at him with a mixture of worry and wariness. Eddie sighs.

“I told you guys I had to do something else-” Eddie starts, but Stan shook his head in disapproval.

“And that justified shutting off your comms and location?” He shoots back, and Eddie shrugs.

“I’m safe now, aren’t I?” He responds with an annoyed gaze. “I rescued 3 kids and prevented them from summoning Pennywise.”

“Pennywise?” Ben interrupts softly, and Eddie glances at him, nodding.

“That’s so not the point Eddie! You disappeared on us, we were worried out of our minds, and you’re still injured-” Bev interrupts, glancing down at the clear bullet wound on Eddie’s arm, pulling him with her. Eddie sighs, not protesting and allowing Bev to drag him towards the infirmary.

He could hear the rest of the Losers follow him as well, but he paid no attention to them. He just hopped onto one of the gurneys, watching absently as both Bev and Mike quickly grabbed the necessary supplies. Bev washes her hands thoroughly, walking back up to him. Eddie sighs, showing Bev his arm without her needing to ask.

“So Pennywise?” Bev asks a little sharply, taking Eddie’s arm and rinsing it out with clean water. Eddie cringes slightly, but the stinging wasn’t too bad.

“Not much is known about him, but he was an ancient being who came to earth thousands of years ago. He was defeated at one point, and an organisation was trying to bring them back.” Eddie explains, watching absently as Bev cleans the rest of the wound, and around the wound with mild soap.

“So how do you know all of this?” Stan asks, standing close to them. Eddie looks up to him, shrugging.

“I have my source.” He states, because he knew that the Losers would not react kindly to him working with the enemy. Heck, he probably would’ve chewed off any of the Losers if they had worked with an enemy like Pitch. And he knew that they were just concerned about his well-being.

So he couldn’t exactly get mad at them for asking.

Bev sighs, slightly annoyed. “Tell me what happened.” She orders, making way for Mike to apply sutures to his skin. It wasn’t much, as the wound wasn’t that big, but it would minimise the scarring. Mike carefully numbed the area, before inserting the first stitch, pulling it through.

“There was a twelfth location, so I went there and broke in. There were a couple of guards but nothing I couldn’t handle-” Eddie tells, hissing slightly as another stitch was pulled through. “I found three kids in a room eventually, they were being used as bait for Pennywise, to feed him enough so he could come back.”

Eddie shudders slightly at the memory, and he knew that the image of those little kids so utterly terrified wound haunt him for too long. Nor would he be able to forget them anytime soon, but he knew that it was a price worth it, it was worth it because he knew it those three kids were alive, and going home to their own families.

“They were f-feeding kids to this P-Pennywise?” Bill asks, face written with disgust and horror. Eddie nods, wishing he could shake his head instead. He knew exactly what Bill was thinking about; Georgie’s attempted kidnapping.

“There was this man with two girls, one being his daughter, they both had powers like us. But I managed to defeat all three of them-”

“Bill?” Stan asks, almost worriedly. Eddie glances at Bill, who was staring at him with shock on his face. Bill opens his mouth, gaping almost before closing it again. Eddie could practically hear his mind turning, searching for the right words.

“D-Did… did s-she look like…?” Bill starts, and Eddie frowns at the way his stutter seemed a lot worse. But soon Bill’s face shifts, changing, and before Eddie knew it, Greta was standing in front of him.

“How did you know?” Eddie asks, and Bill stumbles backwards, turning back to his own form in an instant, like a rubber band snapping back after release. Ben was immediately next to him, making sure he didn’t crash to the ground. Bill grasps Ben’s arm, holding onto it tightly and staring at Eddie in horror.

“S-She tried to t-take G-G… G-Georgie.” Bill stutters out, and that seemed enough for all of them to understand. Realisation crashes over Eddie, and his face morphs instantly. from confusion to sadness.

“Bill-” Eddie whispers, but Mike tightens his grip on Eddie, preventing him from moving, but he didn’t need to. Bev was already up, walking over to Bill and wrapping her arms around him.

“H-He… H-He could’ve been d-d-dead-” Bill stutters, and Bev tightens her arms for good measure, causing Bill to lean in.

“He’s safe, he’s alive Bill, you saved him-” Bev whispers in his ear, rubbing his arms. The rest of the Losers were silent, watching as Bill clung to Bev, not crying. Bill shudders, rubbing his face and shaking his head.

“I’m g-going to G-Georgie-” Bill announces softly, sending a grateful smile to all of them. His hand lingers for a moment before he exits the room.

“I got him.” Stan says, walking after him, leaving the rest of them in the room.

“At least we now know what that girl wanted-” Bev whispers, blowing out a hesitant breath and sitting down again. “Can’t blame him for wanting to go home.” She shrugs, and Mike nods, turning back to Eddie and snipping off the last thread.

The room filled with silence, but Eddie knew that they weren’t chewing his head off because of what Bill had just learned. So Eddie stays silent, watching as Mike finished treating the wound.

*

*

*

Richie doesn’t even see the hand coming, and it takes him a second to comprehend the hit, head snapping to the side. The sound resonates through the room, causing everyone to look up instantly. Richie bit his lip, feeling his cheek burn. He doesn’t move for a second, composing himself.

“Where the hell have you been?” His mom hisses, and Richie slowly looks up, biting the inside of his lip to prevent tears from falling.

“Out,” Richie says calmly, looking up at his mother with stoic eyes. She was frowning down at him, disappointment very clear.

“I can see that-” His mom replies coldly. “I want to know _where_.” His mom continues, eyeing him up and down with the same cold disapproving gaze that he had come to know for so long. Richie swallows again, all too aware of all the people in the room, all staring at him as they waited.

His dad was next to his mom, still on his seat. Henry, Patrick, Belch, Vic and Peter were standing around, to the side, smirking at the attention Richie was getting, knowing it was negative, knowing Richie was likely going to get punished for disappearing for a full day, even missing training.

Richie licks his lips, refraining himself from looking away. “I was out…shopping Pennywise.” Richie said, the last part lower than the first, but still audible. His mom’s face twists with anger.

“You disobeyed direct orders?” She hisses, and Richie was almost expecting another hit, but his mom huffs in anger, sitting back down again. And Richie wasn’t sure if that was worse or better. “Talk.” His mom mentions, and Richie sighs.

“He would’ve destroyed the earth if he hadn’t been stopped-”

“And that is our concern how?” His mom interrupts sharply.

“Because we would not be able to stop him if Deadlights succeeded.” Richie frowns, but even that didn’t seem enough for his mom. His father moves on the chair, the only warning he got before the pain on his stomach grows, barely even a few seconds before it felt like it was burning, stabbing him all over.

Richie chokes out a cry, doubling over and wrapping his arms around his stomach. He felt smoak appear around him, but he forced it back, forced himself to stop. Because he knew that if he tried to defend himself right now, especially considering his parents _knew_ he could if he wanted to, would result in punishment.

He could feel his legs giving out, and his knees hit the ground, sending more pain through his body, even if he could barely feel it right now. And then, as quickly as it started, it was over. Richie gasps for air, rolling onto his side and spluttering, groaning at the lingering pain in his body.

He forces his hands under him, pushing himself up even if his legs were shaky, and his body ached painfully.

And when he looks up he could see his mother’s hand on his dad’s arm, a sign to clearly make him stop. His mom had always been the more collected one, which he hated about her. His dad was a bit more emotional, more like him. And it made him act on impulse too often in his life.

“Training, three hours-” His mom says, gesturing for him to leave. Richie bit his lip, ignoring the laughs of amusement he heard from the Bowers gang. He eyed at them, but quickly turned around when he saw them, deciding it wasn’t worth it. He had his punishment, he couldn’t afford to focus on them.

He had to focus on surviving the next three hours.

*

*

*

“You called me?” Richie asks, walking up to his mom and dad and coming to a stop when his mom lifts a quick hand. She stares at him for a moment, before turning sideways to look at Sonia. The woman was sitting in her chair, a hateful glare on her face, directly pointed at him.

“There is a mission-” His mom says, and Richie frowns, turning to Sonia instead. The glare turned into a slight smirk, satisfied.

“We found my Eddie-bear-” Sonia says, and Richie frowns even more. He knew the files he had stolen were used to find him, and that Sonia was only here because she wanted her son back, after he had been kidnapped by the people from Imperium. Not like Richie believed that crap.

Spending the last months with Sonia had already shown him enough he needed to know, Sonia was a despicable human being.

And Eddie was better off without her, but he knew where this conversation was going.

“You’re going to retrieve him, and kill the family he’s staying with.” Sonia hisses, and Richie jolts, wincing. _Kill_ ….

“Is there no one more qualified?” Richie asks, but there was no one in the room to look at, just his parents and Sonia. His dad frowns, the same disapproving gaze het had come to loathe so much.

“It is time you pull your weight here, son-” He says, and Richie could feel frustration bubble in his stomach. He had never been their son, they never acted like his parents. “You will go over there, and kill Edward’s family and take him home.” Wentworth affirms, and Richie knew.. he knew that that was it.

Richie breathes in. “Names?” He asks, and Wentworth smirks at that, a small victory.

“Emily Marsh and her niece Beverly Marsh, they have been hiding him, pretending to be family.” Wentworth continues, and Richie sighs, lowering his head. “This is your final task to finally prove yourself, and to become a true member of Nox.”

“So don’t mess it up.” Sonia adds, and Richie had to bite his tongue to keep himself from responding, sending a witty remark towards her.

“I won’t.” Richie croaks, waiting for a second more, but he got his orders, so he turns around and walks away.

*

*

*

“Shit!” Eddie curses, eyes widening. “Shit shit shit!”

“Eddie?” Stan asks, frowning at his panic. Eddie’s eyes were frantic, and he pushes himself off the screen, running out of the room. Stan jolts, running after him.

“Call Bev!” Eddie screams after him, running at the changing room. He quickly sheds the jacket he wore over his costume, grabbing his goggles.

“Eddie what-” Stan asks frantically, but Eddie whips around, not even looking at him.

“Now!” Eddie cries out, panic all too clear in his eyes. “They’re going to kill them to get to me, someone is on their way!” Eddie clarifies all too quickly, voice hurried. And _that_ , that was enough for Stan to understand, for him to understand why Eddie was so freaked out, why Eddie was so frantic.

Eddie was staying with Bev and her aunt Emily, she had taken him in, acted like his mom when his own biological mom wouldn't. When Sonia abused him, made him think he was sick, that he was weak. He was just lucky that she never figured out his powers, and that was also exactly the reason he dared to run away.

He wouldn’t have survived on the streets otherwise.

Not long enough for Bev to find her anyways. But she had found him, had chased him for months to make sure he was okay, and after that, when he agreed to join the Losers, her aunt had offered to take him in. He became Edward Marsh instead, as if he was Emily’s actual son.

Imperium had made sure there were records, proof hidden who Eddie really was. And they had loved him unconditionally, and now because of _him_ , they were a target. 

“Just call them! And the rest of the Losers-” He adds, but he was gone before Stan could respond. Eddie just ran towards the garage, where the vehicles were stored. He couldn’t be too late, he couldn’t let anyone hurt his family, his friends, his team. Not by Nox, not by other bad guys, not by anyone.

He jumps onto his motorcycle, turning it on and driving off immediately. The ride was a blur almost, mind not focusing at all. He just saw the door opening, buildings speeding past him, people on the sidewalk, watching him, barely able to keep up with him. He goes as fast as he can, speed building behind him.

He ignores the beeping in his ear, knowing it would only distract him. He drives as fast as he can, crashing his motorcycle the moment he came to the house, the place he had called home for so long. He just crashes it, jumping off the vehicle and launching himself up into the air.

He grabs the railing, conjuring a dagger and swiping at the lock.

It all seems too easy almost, reaching upwards and sliding the window open, pulling himself up and into the apartment. He ended on Bev’s bed, quickly scrambling upwards and into the living room. And he had no idea what to expect, maybe they were dead, maybe one was dead.

Maybe Bev had revealed who she was. And he could only feel immense relief when he saw both Bev and Emily alive. And for a moment, he was too relieved to even think about the fact that it was Pitch who was holding up Bev up on the wall, shadows surrounding her, holding her tightly.

“Where is he?” Pitch asks lowly, and Eddie didn’t think, sucking in a breath and charging forwards. “Holy sh-” Pitch starts, whirling around and throwing his arm up. He grunts in pain as Eddie’s arm collides with his, and Eddie can feel pain going through him as well, but he pushes it away.

He strikes again, knowing that his powers wouldn’t work on him. But he was trained, had been training more ever since he realised his powers didn’t work on Pitch. His fist connects with Pitch’s side, spinning around and kicking Pitch in the stomach, forcing him backwards a considerable distance.

Pitch jumps, disappearing in a cloud of shadows. Eddie whirls around, but Pitch wasn’t behind him.

“Above you!” He could hear someone yell, but someone struck him from above, crashing on top of him. And as soon as it came, it disappeared again. Eddie crashes to the ground, hissing in pain but immediately scrambling upwards. Pitch appeared again, right in front of him, hitting him.

Eddie sucks in a breath, head snapping to the side and pain exploding in his head.

Eddie swipes low with his legs, and Pitch crashes to the ground, and Eddie jumps on top of him, reaching in his costume and taking out the knife. Pitch’s eyes widen below the cloak as Eddie swipes at him, throwing up his arm. The knife cuts through fabric and skin, drawing blood.

Pitch hisses, reaching out with his other arm and grabbing Eddie’s wrist. Pitch moves too quickly for him to comprehend, hooking an arm over Eddie’s shoulder and then rolling. Eddie grunts, feeling himself land on his back, pulling his leg up and hitting Richie in the stomach, causing him to stumble off him.

Immediately Pitch disappears into the shadows, and Eddie scrambles upwards, looking at Bev and Emily. He could see some minor injuries on them, a little trickle of blood on Bev’s forehead.

“Get out of here!” He orders, frowning. “Take your daughter and go-” He adds, hoping that it would throw off Pitch enough to avoid suspicion. Bev didn’t seem too happy about being bossed around, but she complies, scrambling up and pulling her aunt with her, running out of the room.

Pitch transports again, appearing right in front of them.

“Leave them alone-” Eddie yells, charging forwards, feeling power explode behind to boost him. He wraps his legs around Pitch’s form, pulling him downwards. Pitch goes quickly, hitting the ground hard. And suddenly it was all too clear why Pitch wasn’t disappearing into the shadows.

Eddie was still holding onto him.

But it seemed like Pitch understood as well, immediately kicking at Eddie and trying to create as much distance as possible between them. And it was clear that Pitch only had one primary goal, getting back to Bev and Emily, and Eddie wasn’t about to let that happen so he jumps forwards again.

Pitch was faster, ducking low and kicking him away. Pitch disappears before Eddie could reach forwards again.

“No!” Eddie cries out, running after Bev and Emily, and his breath hitches when he sees what was happening in front of him.

“Get back Loser-” Henry sneers, pressing a knife closer to Bev’s throat. Eddie immediately freezes, hands flying up.

“Don’t hurt that girl, please-” Eddie cries out, eyes going wide behind his mask. Pitch takes off his cloak, revealing an almost apologetic look on his face, walking over to Henry. The boy smirks, watching Eddie with cold eyes before slowly travelling to Pitch.

“Get the other.” Henry commands, and Pitch glances at Henry for a moment, wariness all too clear on his face but he brushes past Henry, reaching for Emily.

“No wait-” Emily starts, but Pitch easily pulls her up, forcing her hands behind her. Pitch digs into his uniform, quickly tying her hands behind her. Emily sobs, fearful eyes glancing between Bev and Eddie, begging him to do something, to not let them be taken by the bad guys.

But Eddie couldn’t do anything, could only wait for the others to show up. And he knew they would, they would show up anytime. They weren’t too far behind him.

“Help me with this bitch.” Henry continues, shaking Bev for good measure. Bev was biting her lip, jaw tight with pressure as she tried to keep herself from crying out, from showing fear. She wouldn’t give them that satisfaction. Pitch eyes at Henry one more time, as if he didn’t want to.

Eddie frowns at that, it wasn’t a secret that the Bowers gang wasn’t as trusting of each other as they were, but Pitch seemed to be wary of every little command, seemed to question everything.

Pitch glances at him for a moment, before walking over to Henry, standing directly besides him and grabbing Bev’s arms, forcing them behind her. And the moment Henry could let go of Bev, he snapped an inhibitor collar around Pitch’s neck. Pitch instantly freezes, body seemingly locking up.

“S-Shit-” Henry stutters, face morphing back into Bill, stumbling back. But he quickly regains himself, charging forwards and using Pitch’s confusion and surprise, pulling his arms back. Pitch hisses, jerking slightly in Bill’s hold but Bill was quicker, stronger, and managed to snap the cuffs around his wrists.

“Anyman, are you okay?” Luminance asks, feeling relief flood him. Bill looks up, eyes hidden behind the mask. Bill gives him a small smirk, letting go of Pitch, and reaching for his ear.

“We g-got him-” Bill says in his ear piece, dropping his arm and turning back to Eddie.

“Well-played-” Pitch huffs, glaring at Bill, but Bill didn’t respond, glancing back for a second before someone else walked in. “Just him as back-up? Wow, and here I thought I was special-” Pitch eyes at the two.

“You’re powerless Pitch-” Stan frowns, reaching forwards and pulling rest of the mask off his face, revealing his bare face. Eddie frowns slightly, looking at the bruise that spread across Richie’s face, dark and all too visible.

“Powers are overrated Osprey,” Pitch grins, like it was some kind of game.

“So is freedom.” Stan huffs, grabbing Pitch’s arm and turning him around, pushing him forwards, leading him away. Pitch glances back at Eddie, and for a moment Eddie couldn’t make out the expression on his face, could only focus on the bruise on his face, but he realised a little too late.

It was satisfaction, he _wanted_ this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bill: 1  
> Richie: 0 
> 
> Unless......


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for last week, I was meant to update but I was on a holiday in France so it just completely slipped my mind. But I'm back, and with a new chapter!

Bev doesn’t even speak, doesn’t announce her presence at all, instead she immediately jumps at Eddie, wrapping her arms around him, clinging to him like a koala. Eddie immediately steels himself, stumbling just slightly to regain his balance and wrapping her arms around her to support her.

Bev buries her face in his neck, shaking slightly.

“He was after you, he was going to take you back-” Bev whispers against him, and Eddie strokes her back, hiding his face as well.

“I know, but I’m here, you’re okay.” Eddie mutters, and Bev snorts, whacking him upside the head.

“I wasn’t worried about _me_ , I was worried about you.” She retorts, and Eddie frowns, pulling out of the hug and allowing Bev to get back to her feet again.

“Bev, he would’ve _killed_ you, he was sent there to kill you and Emily, and take me home to my mom-”

“Which is exactly why I was so worried,” Bev interrupts him, staring at him with teary eyes. It wasn’t often Bev cried, it wasn’t like she refused to do so, but there wasn’t much that could shake her that badly. “You can’t go back to her, I would rather die if I can prevent that, so when Pitch came over, I was so scared that you would-”

“Please don’t ever sacrifice yourself for me again Bev, I can handle my mom, I can’t handle you dying, you or Emily.” Eddie whispers, feeling tears burn in his eyes. Bev bites her lip, but eventually moves forwards, wrapping her arms around him again. Eddie returns the hug, squeezing softly.

They didn’t really need to speak to understand one another, knowing what the other was thinking. Bev wouldn’t be able to live with herself if she sacrificed Eddie’s wellbeing for her life, would absolutely rather die than see him go back to his mom, which meant she wouldn’t have given up his location.

And if Eddie hadn’t gotten there; Bev would’ve likely been tortured and then killed for answers, or maybe her aunt would’ve been. And Eddie could never live with himself if Bev died, especially not if it was because of him. They understood the other side, and they were both just glad that they were alive and safe.

Bev squeezes a little bit for good measure, reminding herself that Eddie was here, that Eddie was with them.

“What happened to Pitch?” She eventually asks, and Eddie looks up at her, allowing himself to study her face. There were two butterfly stitches on her forehead, a few bruises already appearing, but aside from that, she seemed fine, shaken up but fine.

“Why do you think we’re here?” Stan interrupts them softly, walking over to Bev and pulling her into a quick hug. Bev smiles softly at him, and she didn’t need to speak for Stan to understand; _thank you for coming_.

“Is it some kind of plan?” Bev asks and Stan shrugs, gesturing for them to follow him. Eddie walks after both Stan and Bev, into another room where Mike was, focused on something on the table.

“We found two trackers on him before we even got here, it wasn’t safe to take him to our own compound,” Stan says, standing next to Mike and glancing down. Bev frowns slightly, walking up to him as well, wrapping a quick arm around Mike and glancing at the devices on the table, now clear as tracking devices.

There were different locations around the city that were expendable, set up for times like these. They could still put Pitch away and guard him, but if this location was compromised, it wasn’t a huge deal.

“So what, he got himself captured on purpose?” Bev continues, and Mike shrugs.

“That’s the theory, get himself captured to find out compound,” Mike explains, glancing up at both Bev and Eddie from his seat. Eddie frowns, crossing his arms over each other. “What are you thinking?” Mike asks, because of course he would notice it. Eddie sighs, shaking his head slightly.

“I was just thinking, Pitch told me once, when he was taunting me, that he could see when Bill was transformed,” Eddie spoke, glancing between Bev, Stan and Mike.

“How?” Stan asks sharply but Eddie shakes his head.

“I don’t know Stan, but I know that if he’s telling the truth he knew that it was actually Bill, and not Henry.” Eddie says, and Mike lowers the disabled tracker, putting it down.

“And what if he’s lying?” Mike opts.

“Why would he lie about it?” Eddie asks, and Bev snorts.

“Why wouldn’t he? He’s a villain Eddie, he could’ve said so because he wanted us to think he could, and Bill wouldn’t use his powers-”

“But he also told me he was the only one who could, it wouldn’t make sense if he was lying about it _and_ told me it was just him.” Eddie retorts, which caused a silence across the room. “Not to mention how he must’ve known that we’d disable the trackers, he’s not dumb.”

“So what are you suggesting?” Stan asks, and Eddie sighs. 

“I don’t know Stan, I don’t know what to think about him, okay?” Eddie says, because it was true, he had no idea what to think. Pitch was a villain, he was their enemy. He had stolen, hurt people, destroyed property, threatened people. And he had been ordered to kill Bev and Emily to get to him.

He couldn’t be trusted. But Eddie couldn’t deny that their powers were linked in some way, it had to be. When they had been working together, he could feel his powers being so much more stronger, so much easier to conjure. They complimented each other, light and shadows working together.

That had to mean something right?

But Pitch was also powerful, probably had better and harder training. He was the son of the leaders of Nox, had probably trained his entire life. Eddie had only trained with other powered people since he joined Imperium now one and a half years ago. And that power he showed when they were working together, swallowing up Greta.

Maybe it didn’t work on Eddie, maybe that’s why he never used that power, but he had also never used it on the other Losers, it never occurred to Pitch to switch adversaries. It seemed like he was happy to battle Eddie, which did not make sense if he wanted to win, if he didn’t care about them.

Something wasn’t adding up.

“I want to talk to him.” Eddie mentions, and Stan frowns at that, silent for a moment. As if he was debating whether Eddie could, but it wasn’t like Eddie was going to let Stan stop him. But it would be much easier if he didn’t try. Stan sighs, a clear defeat in his body.

“Don’t do anything stupid-” Stan deadpans, gesturing to the door. Eddie chuckles, but decided to not respond, walking out of the room. He knew exactly where they were keeping Pitch after all, so he made his way over to that room, putting his hand on the screen so it could scan his hand.

He quickly types in the password, and the door opened with a soft ‘click’. Eddie pushes it open further, checking his mask before walking into the room, and allowing it to fall shut behind him. He was immediately met by a bright room, almost causing him to squint at the change, but he felt safe in the light.

It wasn’t a big room, a big square with a glass cage in the middle of the room, barely 10 by 10 feet. Eddie knew it was reinforced glass, so virtually unbreakable, but it was still a weird sight in front of him. There was a thin cot in the corner of the room, no bed to avoid giving prisoners anything to fight with.

There was a toilet in the corner besides the cot, but nothing else except for Pitch.

“I’m sure you’d love being in the spotlight like this-” Pitch whispers, looking up at Eddie. The boy swallows thickly, almost not knowing what to say as he takes in the appearance of Pitch. They had removed his cape, and the rest of his uniform sometime when they had taken him to his cell.

A collar was still wrapped around his throat, but his usual black clothes were gone, replaced by a stark white t-shirt and pants, like he was a patient in a mental hospital. His pale skin seemed even worse, and his eyes were bloodshot, brimming with tears. Bright lights were shining down on him from all angles, leaving him with no escape. He was sitting in the middle of the room, on the ground.

“It’s so you won’t escape,” Eddie responds, frowning slightly. Maybe it was more being paranoid than anything else, but people had managed to take off collars before, so they weren’t risking Pitch doing the same. In such brightness there was less chance that he’d be able to transport out.

And the cot was fixed to the ground, leaving him with no option to hide in the darkness, no corner to hide in either.

Pitch chuckles humourlessly. “So what, you came to gloat?” He asks, pulling his knees up to his chest. “Or maybe you want to know why I was at that house-”

“You were sent there to kill, and take Edward back to his mother, which also reveals that Nox is working his mother Sonia.” Eddie interrupts him, crossing his arms and frowning. Because he hadn’t yet realised that, which he definitely should have. If Nox sent Pitch over to take him back to his mom, then his mom ended up at Nox.

It would at least explain her absence these past months, and why he could never find her even with the best technology and people at Imperium.

Pitch chuckles again, resting his cheek on his knees and facing Eddie. “So why am _I_ here? What is going to happen?” He asks eventually.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Eddie retorts, and Pitch laughs at that, shrugging.

“Yes I would like to know that Lu Lu.” He laughs, shaking his head in amusement.

“Okay I’ll tell you-” Eddie says, walking closer to the glass and sitting down on the ground as well, legs crossed. “But first I have a few questions for you.” Eddie shoots back, and Pitch lifts his head slightly, as if he was gauging Eddie’s face, see what he was up to, and Eddie just stared right back.

There was a bandage wrapped around his arm, where Eddie had cut him, and a few bruises were already appearing. The bruise on his face only seemed more defined in the bright light.

“Shoot,” Pitch eventually says, turning so he was facing Eddie, crossing his legs as well. Eddie frowns, eyes roaming his legs and arms but shaking off the thought.

“Why did you allow yourself to get captured?” Eddie asks sharply, which didn’t come as a surprise for Pitch it seemed, or he was just very good at hiding it.

“Who said I did?” Pitch retorts, and Eddie rolls his eyes, not like Pitch would be able to see it.

“You told me you could see when Anyman uses his power, and yet you fell for it?” Eddie challenges, and _that_ seemed to put Pitch off for a moment, frowning as if he was suddenly realising that he did say that. But Pitch quickly chuckles again.

“Rule number one kiddo, never trust a villain,” Pitch retorts, but Eddie could see he was trying to cover it up, trying to lie his way out. He smirks slightly.

“You’re smart enough to realise we would find the trackers-”

“All three of them?” Pitch interrupts, and Eddie glares at him.

“We both know there were two.” Eddie retorts sharply, and Pitch chuckles.

“You’re learning Lu Lu,” Pitch replies with an amused tone.

“You’re smart enough to realise we would find the trackers-” Eddie repeats again, not responding to the taunt. “So why bother? You know Nox can’t find us, you’ll be stuck here-” Eddie stops at the change in Pitch’s face, a sort of defeat crossing his features, sighing softly and turning away from Eddie.

“I’m not stupid Lu Lu.” Pitch sighs, and Eddie frowns, staring at Pitch’s back.

“I never said you were dickwad-” Eddie hisses, scrambling to his feet and walking around the cage to look at Pitch, but the boy just turned around again, turning his back to him. “Just answer the question-”

“I have nothing to tell you.” Pitch mutters, but Eddie frowns, hands reaching for the glass.

“I want to know the truth Pitch-”

“I have _nothing_ to tell you, Eddie.” Pitch hisses, and Eddie reels back, eyes going wide at the mention of his _name_. “Yeah that’s what I thought.” Pitch huffs, scrambling up and moving over to the cot instead, sitting down with his back turned to Eddie. 

Eddie was gone before Pitch could say something else.

*

*

*

“How?” Eddie asks, walking into the room with a tray of food in his hands. Pitch looks up, dark bags under his eyes and tired eyes darting up and down for a moment. Eddie swallows at the attention, almost feeling exposed without his mask but it seemed like Pitch didn’t even care all too much.

He just glances for a quick second, only focusing on the eyes for a moment before it settled on the food instead. Pitch tries to stay calm, but his face gives him away. Eddie narrows his eyes, a silent _answer the question_.

“It wasn’t hard to figure out after you told me you saw me in your vision, Eddie.” Pitch frowns, still eyeing the food. Eddie sighs, putting the food down and pushing it under the tiny sledge, barely 4 inches high. Pitch stands up, joints popping audibly and walking over to the edge of the glass, sitting down.

He silently reaches over to the food, picking it up and reluctantly bringing it up to his mouth, chewing softly.

“So what, you lied to me?” Eddie asks instead, focusing on Pitch’s face instead. The curly hair was a lot more unruly than yesterday, seemingly sticking out in every direction.

“I don’t think you realise I’m a villain just yet, Eds.” Pitch chuckles, and Eddie scowls.

“That’s _also_ not my name asshole,” Eddie reports, only causing Pitch to laugh even more. Eddie looks down, gnawing at his lip. “When did my mom join Nox?” Eddie eventually asks, and Pitch glances up, meeting Eddie’s brown eyes.

“A little less than a year ago, started demanding we helped her get you back after you were kidnapped by Imperium. She was like some fat Karen asking for the manager-”

“She said I was kidnapped?” Eddie instead frowns, looking down for a moment. He wasn’t surprised per se, he hadn’t thought of this possibility sure, but it came as no surprise that his mom would go as far as pretend he had been _kidnapped_ by heroes instead of realising that he had left on his own.

He even left a note, that alone should’ve been enough.

But of course his mom knew that, of course she had seen the note. She just refused to believe that it was her own fault, that her ‘Eddie-bear’ would run away.

“I mean damn she took Munchausen by Proxy to a whole other level, she’s absolutely mental,” Pitch continues, knowing that he didn’t need to answer Eddie’s initial question. “You’re better off without her.” Eddie looks up, a glare on his face.

“And yet you came to my house to take me back.” He retorts. He couldn’t feel angry though, he just felt defeated, betrayed. He was angry at his mom, angry at the world, but he couldn’t get himself to direct that anger at Pitch.

“Not everyone can choose their own family, Eddie-” Pitch snorts, shaking his head with an amused smile. “I had my orders, don’t shoot the messenger.” He shrugs, taking another bite of his food.

“And like the good sheep you are, you followed that order huh?” Eddie retorts.

“And you don’t?” Pitch shoots back, and Eddie scowls.

“No we don’t, Anyman may be our leader but we don’t blindly follow him,” Eddie snaps back instead, because their team didn’t work that way. Bill was their unofficial leader, but he didn’t have the only voice in the team. They always made their decisions collectively as much as they could.

Pitch snorts, shaking his head. “There’s no way; that big guy would apologise for being stabbed and offer to clean the blood off the knife.” Pitch affirms.

“Brawn?” Eddie asks, frowning slightly. “He wouldn’t-” He starts, clamping his mouth shut. Because he could totally see Ben do that, in the most endearing way of course. Pitch smiles cheekily, leaning back a little.

“I rest my case-” Pitch chuckles. “That fiery redhead on the other hand, now her I can see going against your leader.”

“She would-” Eddie chuckles, forcing the smile down immediately afterwards. He wasn’t here to chat, he was here to get as much information from him as possible. To figure out exactly what was going on at Nox. “Stop doing that!” Eddie snaps, glaring at Pitch.

“Do what?” Pitch replies, trying to look innocent. Eddie scowls, flipping him the bird, which Pitch quickly responds by blowing a kiss in the air.

“Tell me more about my mom, you said she came to you months ago?” Eddie asks instead, ignoring the gesture.

“She came a lot these past months, which time are you talking about?” Pitch responds, and for a moment Eddie has no idea what Pitch was talking about, until the boy winked at him. Eddie was immediately up, groaning loudly and turning away from Pitch.

“Holy shit you’re insufferable,” Eddie groans, pulling at his hair.

“I am to please-” Pitch chuckles, and Eddie takes a calming breath, turning back.

“Does she know about me?” He asks instead, and Pitch still looks at him with an amused expression but shakes his head.

“Nobody knows, I haven’t told anyone,” Pitch responds, sounding honest, but Eddie narrows his eyes. “I’m not going to give them more chance to study my powers Eds, I would much rather spend that time with your mom.”

“What is she like now?” Eddie asks instead, once again ignoring Pitch’s remarks. Pitch sighs, sitting up straighter again.

“She’s a nightmare honestly, I can’t believe she’s your mom,” Pitch huffs, rubbing his face. “She goes around the compound like she rules the place, ordering everyone around and blaming them when she does something wrong. She’s insufferable.”

“That sounds like her-” Eddie mutters, looking down at the ground, he slowly sits back down again, crossing his legs. “Is Nox using her?”

Pitch frowns, cocking his head slightly. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, they wouldn’t just take her in, they wouldn’t just accept her and give her so much power in the organisation for no reason, so she obviously showed them what she can do.” Eddie explains, and understanding dawns down on Pitch, nodding silently.

“Yeah when she came to us my parents almost killed her for it, but then when the guards came she attacked them, which got their attention long enough for them to explain what she can do.” Pitch explains, and Eddie doesn’t know if he wanted to laugh or cry, because it sounded so much like his mom.

He could see her coming into a bad guy organisation like Nox, which was known for terrorising the world, and coming into that building to _demand_ they helped her with finding him. She would do that, Eddie had no doubt about that. She was desperate enough to screw over the world in the process.

“I never believed a word that she said-” Pitch continues softly, looking up with innocent eyes. “Is that how she did it? Is that how she convinced you you were sick?” He asks, and Eddie frowns for a moment, not realising that Pitch would’ve found this out as well, but after knowing that Pitch saw him.

That he saw the memory of his mom trying to get him to puke up because she had seen he had eaten some candy, or at least that’s what she thought he did. He never ate that candy, some kid thought it would be funny to put the wrapper in his backpack as a joke, but a joke that led to him above the toilet.

So of course it wasn’t a stretch that Pitch would figure out his mom lied to him, made him think he was sick.

Eddie looks up, meeting Pitch’s gaze. “She used her powers on me, made my body believe it was sick, even when it wasn’t.”

And Eddie hadn’t known for years that all the symptoms he was experiencing, all the illnesses his mom made him believe he had, was only because his mom had the power to make others sick, and she had used that power on him until the moment he ran away from here.

And never turned back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Sonia has the power to make someone feel any sickness she wants them to, which is what she did to Eddie. It was already bad when Sonia just tried to convince Eddie but now she can also make him physically ill?? Poor Eddie.. *realises I'm the author*. Oh well... *hides*.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly the ending of the chapter is a scene that I have been working towards ever since I started this story, and was one of the first things I outlined as well. The story was always going to come to this :P But it will make more sense if I say this afterwards. Oh well, enjoy the chapter!

“Have you people ever heard of spices?” Pitch exclaims, throwing his hands up wildly. Eddie eyes at the dish in front of him, a red curry it seems like. “Seriously some cumin or garam masala, I mean even turmeric would do.” He groans, and Eddie rolls his eyes, pulling a chair up to the glass again.

“You’re not a guest, you’re a prisoner.” Eddie deadpans, and Pitch grins.

“Kinky-” He laughs, eyeing back at his dish again. “But seriously, fix that, whoever cooked this is a hazard to society.”

“Then you don’t eat it.” Eddie retorts, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. Pitch stuck out his tongue, digging into the food and eating it regardless. Eddie frowns slightly at the sight. There was a strange ease about Pitch, and yet he seemed to get worse as the days passed.

It had been two days since they captured him, just two days, but it seemed like a lifetime.

“That’s what I thought.” Eddie chuckles, and Pitch flips him the bird as he takes another dutiful bite. “Sleep well?” He asks, and Pitch raises an eyebrow, tilting his head slightly with a silent question.

“And you care why? I’m a prisoner remember?” Pitch retorts, and Eddie scowls.

“Don’t be petty, dickwad. I’m here aren’t I?” Eddie shoots back, and Pitch slowly deflates, chuckling softly.

“The cot isn’t the best no, and I’ve flashed my junk to the security guard watching the camera’s enough times now.” Pitch says, gesturing to the toilet. Eddie frowns, looking at the thing. There was no way to hide from the camera’s, which was obviously done on purpose to always keep an eye on Pitch.

But Eddie could see why it was unfortunate for him to have no privacy at all, especially considering he was surrounded by so many people he did not know, and were essentially enemies of his.

“But I could use a blanket for the night.” Pitch continues, and Eddie frowns.

“A blanket you can use to transport out of here?” He asks sharply and Pitch raises an eyebrow, hands reaching for his collar and pulling on it a couple of times.

“Does it look like I'm transporting out of here?” He retorts, shaking his head with an almost amused smile. “I can’t eve pee in peace, how do you think I can get this thing off?” He asks, pulling at the collar to emphasise his point.

“We just don’t want to risk it, but if it makes you feel any better, nobody is interested in looking at your junk.” Eddie snaps back, and Pitch shakes his head again, turning up to one of the corners and waving, as if he was catching someone’s attention before quickly flipping it the bird.

Eddie frowns, not realising that Pitch knew where the cameras were. Pitch drops his arms again, finishing the last part of his food before pushing the plate under the small ledge again, and Eddie quickly pulls it out of reach. There wasn’t anything he could use on the plate really, they weren’t stupid.

Not even plastic forks were allowed, so he was stuck with a plastic spoon instead, and a plastic bowl. They’ve had prisoners smashing the boy to harm themselves before, so they weren’t about to make that mistake another time. And luckily Pitch wasn’t stupid to refuse to give the stuff back.

Almost like he was content in his cell.

“So what, you want more information about your mom?” Pitch eventually asks, and Eddie looks up.

“Or your name for starters.” Eddie says, but Richie just gives him a toothy grin.

“Sorry Eds~” He teases, and Eddie huffs in annoyance. Richie knew his name, it was only fair that Eddie knew his, but so far he hadn’t told him.

“What did she say about me?” Eddie asks instead, and for a moment he can only be grateful for the fact that nobody was actually listening in on the conversations that they were having. He had no idea what he was going to say to the other Losers, no idea how they would react when they learned that Pitch knew his secret identity.

So he just tried to hold off that conversation for as long as possible.

“You sounded very stupid-” Pitch chuckles, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “She made it sound like you were scared of everything-”

“I was at first,” Eddie interrupts softly, looking at Pitch with an innocent expression. “She made me scared of everything except for her. There were germs everywhere, diseases I could catch, that my classmates would give to me. She made it sound like I wouldn’t even survive without her.”

“Yeah that sounds like her,” Pitch nods, shaking his head in a mixture of pity and amusement at the same time. “She has been screaming at all of us about the same thing, I mean not as bad as what you’re telling me but it was still bad. It’s like she gets off on making others dependent on her.”

“She does,” Eddie scowls. “At least, she enjoyed making me dependent on her, showing the world what a good mother she was by caring for a ‘sick boy’ like me.” Eddie complains, and Pitch snorts, shaking his head.

“It’s so clear she’s just bullshitting the whole thing though-”

“Not for me.” Eddie interrupts softly, looking up at Pitch with clear pain in his eyes. Pitch falters slightly, as if he deflates a little. There was clear compassion in his eyes as he shakes his head lightly again.

“I’m not saying that, Eddie. It’s not your fault, or your job to question you mother,” He says, sincerity in his voice, and for a moment Eddie was taken back by it. “I’m just saying that it’s easy to spot from an outside perspective, we didn’t get to see her as a ‘caring’ mother, which is probably how she won over many.”

Eddie snorts at that, nose scrunching up. “People hated her, she was a menace to the neighbourhood,” Eddie retorts. “But I guess she did get some sympathy for me, and Nox is much quicker to spot lies.”

“I don’t think anyone believes her, they’re just happy because they can use her powers. I mean, even if they knew, they wouldn’t care-” Pitch says nonchalantly, leaning back slightly. Eddie frowns again, gauging Pitch’s reaction. 

“So your parents are just cool with screwing over my life as long as it helps them?” Eddie asks sharply, and Pitch shrugs.

“I never claimed my parents were the best people, they’re only concerned with their own goal, and making sure I can continue that goal.” Pitch frowns, sudden vulnerability on his face.

“What does that mean? They are marrying you off to the best girl with powers to keep the bloodline going?” Eddie asks instead, and Pitch brightens slightly, chuckling. Eddie couldn’t explain it, but he felt a little bit better as well that Pitch was smiling again, even though it should have no effect on him.

“None of that heteronormative bullshit here Eds-” Pitch chuckles, and Eddie frowns slightly.

“Your parents would actually do that?” He asks, but Pitch shakes his head, waving him off.

“Not now, maybe if I don’t come home with a girl in the next 10 years, they were already talking about setting me up with Greta to pull Deadlights into their own organisation, but y’know, oops-” Pitch laughs, putting his hands in the air, palms flat and facing upwards as a sort of shrug motion.

Eddie can’t help but chuckle as well, knowing what Pitch was talking about.

“And you never came home with someone?” Eddie asks, something stirring in his stomach. _Stop asking these questions? Why do you care?_ But he brushes the thought aside. A dark look spread across Pitch’s face, and he sighs.

“Just once-” He starts licking his lips. “I mean I really thought they’d be cool with it but I guess that was also really naive.”

“Why?” Eddie asks.

“My parents want me to hook up with someone really powerful, and boy were they…..-” Pitch stops for a moment, taking a deep breath. “Connor… had telekinesis, and he was really good at it.” Pitch adds, and _that_ seems to finally put all the pieces together, something Eddie had probably known since the first remark.

But a thought he wouldn’t allow himself to think nevertheless.

“And they still tried to set you up with girls?” Eddie asks, but Richie shrugs again.

“I mean I like girls too, but it still sucks, I really liked him. He was powerful, and he was Henry’s cousin so I really thought they would… y’know be okay with it.”

“And they weren’t?” Eddie asks, and Pitch sends him a look, which was fair. Of course they weren’t, but it wasn’t an actual question, just a rhetorical one. So Pitch shook his head eventually.

“No they weren’t okay with it, they forced me to break up with him, which they only did because I like girls as well, so they’ll just push girls onto me-” Pitch says, and Eddie can see tears form in his eyes. “But Connor was gay, refused to change so…..-” There was a silence, but Eddie already knew.

“They killed him.” He breathes out, and a single tears falls down Pitch’s face.

“Shit Pitch I’m-” Eddie hisses, but he stops a door opens, one of the nurses working at Imperium walking in. He was wearing a mask to hide his identity from Pitch, which wasn’t that weird, and Eddie immediately understood why he came, Pitch was still injured, so they had to tend to his wounds.

And they had to make sure he physically healthy, as it had happened before that capture messed with someone so badly they got really sick.

Eddie raises his hand quickly, a clear sign to give him a second, and the nurse nodded. Eddie turns back to Pitch, slowly getting to his feet.

“I’m really sorry Pitch, you didn’t deserve that.” Eddie whispers, watching Pitch bit his lip. “I'll be back, tonight or tomorrow, okay?” He asks, and Pitch doesn’t react, glancing at the nurse for a quick second, knowing that there were two more guards waiting behind the door to keep Pitch subdued.

Eddie sighs, putting his hand on the glass quickly for a moment, before lowering it, and he was about to turn around when-

“Eds?” Pitch asks softly, and Eddie glances down at Pitch, who carefully climbs to his feet, now looking down on him. “Richie, my name’s Richie.” He whispers, so soft that only Eddie could hear it. For a moment Eddie is too shocked. Pit- Or Richie’s identity wasn’t a secret per se.

Imperium knew his face, most of the world didn’t though, because he wore a cloak most of the time, but none knew his actual name. And now only Eddie did. There was a short silence, and a smile tugs at one corner of Eddie’s mouth. .

“What a stupid name-” Eddie shoots back, and Richie grins softly, sending him an appreciating smile.

“Will you… stay?” He asks softly, glancing at the nurse and the two guards that were now standing beside him. A woman, former wrestler, who could turn her skin to steel and another a man without powers but incredibly strong nevertheless. Eddie nods, taking a step back to allow the nurse the room.

And Eddie stays in the room as they enter the glass cage, hold Richie down as the nurse changes his bandages, checks the stitches and applied medicine to his bruises, and checks his vitals and temperature. Eddie doesn’t leave him, not caring about how it would look like to others.

Even if Richie refuses to meet his gaze the entire time.

He stays as they examine him, the two guards holding him in his place tightly, tight enough to leave faint bruises. He could see new bandages being wrapped around the wounds, ointment put on them. He stays until the nurse and the guards leave, and Richie curls up on the cot, crying silently with his back turned to Eddie, trembling ever so slightly.

And Eddie left.

*

*

*

It wasn’t like the idea hit him at once, that a light suddenly turned on and it was all too clear. He had his doubts, he had wondered about so many things before, but slowly the pieces started to fall in its place, slowly but surely the puzzle came together, and he stills when it suddenly all makes sense.

Eddie looks up. “Pitch didn’t let himself be captured to infiltrate Imperium,” Eddie speaks up hastily, completely talking over the conversation the rest of the Losers were having. It falls silent immediately, and everyone looks at him with a frown on their faces.

“W-What?” Bill asks, clear confusion on his face. Eddie stands up, pacing slightly.

“Okay I know this sounds crazy but just hear me out,” He starts, mind whirling. “He told me he could sense when Bill was using his powers right?-”

“If we should believe him.” Stan counters sharply, but softly. Eddie nods.

“Yes but we also established that he had no good reason to lie-”

“That we know of.” Stan says, and Eddie waves him off.

“He had no good reason to lie about it, so you guys thought he got himself captured on purpose, so that Nox could track him here, which makes _no_ sense because we all know that we were going to find those trackers anyways, so it couldn’t have been.” Eddie rants, not even looking at the rest of the Losers.

“So why did he?” Mike asks softly, glancing between Eddie and the rest. Eddie glances at him, shaking his head slightly.

“Okay so you guys remember that incident with Pennywise, where I teamed up with someone?” Eddie asks sheepishly, already preparing for the fall out of what he was going to say. “Uhm that someone might’ve been Pitch-”

“What?!” Bev cries out, eyes going wide. “You worked together with Pitch?”

“That’s not the point!” Eddie retorts, throwing his hands up. “When we were fighting together he used this power on Greta, he straight up swallowed her into the darkness and she came out almost catatonic, too scared to move-”

“That only shows how dangerous he is Eddie.” Mike frowns slightly, and Eddie nods.

“Exactly!” He admits, which only confuses the Losers even more. “He has this super powerful attack that he can use, so why doesn’t he use that on us? On me?” He asks, and that seems to silence them for a second.

“Maybe it doesn’t work on you? With your powers being opposites?” Ben suggests softly, and Eddie shakes his head.

“But that wouldn’t make sense either because he would just make sure he doesn’t fight me, but he always fights me.” Eddie counters, running a hand through his hand. “And when we were working together I kept reminding him he was the villain, because I thought he was but he seemed really sad when I did.”

Eddie says, and he can see the reaction on the Losers’ faces, they didn’t want to believe it.

“Okay s-so let’s say he’s telling the t-t.. t-truth.” Bill butts in, glancing up at Eddie. “Why w-would he get himself c-captured.”

“To get away from Nox, to escape his family without actually betraying them,” Eddie finally reveals, and Bev scrunches up her nose.

“Why would he want that?” She asks sceptically.

“Think about it Bev, he doesn’t do anything evil on his own, it’s always ordered, or he’s not alone. He has these powers that can swallow people whole that he doesn’t want his family to know about and never uses on us, and he knew Bill wasn’t actually Henry, he _knew_ we would capture him-”

“He could’ve just run away though.” Stan says, but Eddie shakes his head.

“Where would he go?” Eddie asks him, more rhetorical than an actual question. “Nox would probably find him, he had those trackers that he can’t disable himself, and they aren’t afraid to kill their own if they are deemed unworthy. They would’ve killed him, or they would’ve punished him. If he gets captured, they don’t know he betrayed them.” Eddie tries to explain.

Because the image of Richie’s face when he talked about Connor, the fear in his eyes that Eddie can only now place correctly, it was all too clear. They killed Connor for something so insignificant, for defying the organisation on something so minor. Because that was probably the problem.

Not his orientation, but the defiance. He went against Nox, and got killed for it.

Richie, no matter who he was in the organisation, wouldn’t be spared if he literally abandoned the organisation. And it would probably a long and painful death. That’s why he never left, that’s why he pretended to not know it was actually Bill, because he _wanted_ to get captured, to get away from Nox.

“Eddie-” Bev whispers, tilting her head slightly. “I know you want to believe there’s good in everyone, but Pitch is a villain-”

“You didn’t even listen to me!” Eddie snaps, a glare on his face. Bev sighs, walking up to Eddie and putting a hand on her shoulder.

“I did Eddie, but he probably got in your head-” Bev tries, but Eddie scowls, ripping his arm back.

“He didn’t, and I’ll prove it to you.” Eddie snaps, turning back to his team and storming out of the room. The door slams shut behind him, and he sighs, running shaky hands through his hair, trying to calm himself down. He couldn’t show up there like this, so he forces himself to breathe.

In and out, in and out.

He doesn’t wait long though, knowing that the Losers wouldn’t wait for him too long, and they would soon try to find him. Not because he would run away again, he hadn’t done that in a few months, but to make sure he was okay. And while he usually appreciated that concern, he had something better to do.

So he quickly starts walking again, up to the hallway where Richie was being kept, where he could just see one of the guards walking up to the door with another meal.

“Hey!” Eddie got his attention, walking up to him. “I’ll take it from here, I need to be alone with Pitch for a moment.” He says, grabbing the plate. The guard frowns, but eventually shrugs. The Losers were well known in the organisation after all, had undoubtedly a higher authority than the guard.

Eddie smiles politely, turning to the door and opening the room quickly. Immediately Richie glances at the door, a faint smile appearing on his face as Eddie walks in. He eyes at the plate Eddie was carrying.

“Eddie bringeth spaghetti?” Richie chuckles as Eddie walks towards the cage, putting the food down and sliding it under the ledge. “Eddie spaghetti.” Richie grins, almost as if he was so proud of the nickname. Eddie rolls his eyes, feeling some tension drain away, this was familiar, this was comforting.

_And maybe they were right, maybe Richie did get in his head?_

“That’s the worst nickname so far.” Eddie frowns, and Richie grins up at him with a satisfied look on his face.

“And that’s exactly why I’m keeping it.” Richie counters, blowing him a quick kiss. He frowns slightly as he notices Eddie doesn’t react to it. “You okay?” He asks, food disregarded for a moment and climbing to his feet. Eddie sighs, shaking his head as if it would clear his head, or arrange his thoughts the way he wanted it to.

“I need you to turn around and put your hands up-” Eddie orders, and Richie frowns, cocking his head.

“Why o why do I have to do that Eddie Spaghetti?” Richie jokes, but there was an underlying tone in his voice, a sort of confusion mixed with wariness.

“I just need to know something Richie, please.” Eddie asks, and Richie frowns even more, taking an almost hesitant step back. “I want you to be okay with this as well, I won’t force you okay, but I really want to know.” Eddie continues, and Richie bites his lip, contemplating if he should.

But then he sighs, taking a deep breath and turning around, putting his hands up. Eddie glances up at the security cameras, but _screw it_. He steps up to the door, fishing the key to the door out of his uniform and opening it. He kept his eyes steady on Richie’s back, conjuring a light dagger just in case.

He walks up to him, tapping it slightly on his shoulder but it didn’t vanish. Richie seems to realise that as well, tensing under the touch. Eddie immediately lets the dagger vanish, reaching up with his other hand.

“Don’t freak out-” Eddie says, putting his hand on the exposed skin of Richie’s neck. A white light flashes in front of his eyes, and he is pulled into Richie’s mind.

*

*

*

He hears it before he sees it. 

Something explodes next to him, throwing him back. White light slams into him, snapping him out of Richie’s mind, and the hope he had just seen. Eddie’s eyes fly open, as his body shoots backwards, hitting the glass hard. Eddie cries out, scrambling to his feet. He was just fast enough to put his mask back on before enemies storm into the building.

“Holy shit-” Richie curses, eyes going wide with surprise at the uniforms that were _clearly_ Nox’. Eddie frowns, glaring and conjuring his daggers, throwing them. He moves before he can comprehend it himself, charging at the people in front of him. There weren’t many, _yet_ , so he works quickly.

He jumps at the first one, wrapping his legs around his neck, and twisting, bringing him down. The head slams into the ground, and Eddie jumps up quickly, getting two more daggers ready and throwing them. Two guards cry out in pain, eyes going wide as the daggers slam into them before vanishing.

He jumps, letting power build behind him to get him to the other guard faster. But he’s quick, and Eddie sees the fist coming, but he isn’t fast enough to dodge it. Eddie cries out, air escaping his lungs as the fist hit his stomach. He moves before he can comprehend it, swiping low.

He conjures another dagger, stabbing the leg of the guard, hearing a cry of pain.

“Lume!” He hears a familiar voice, and he feels relief flood him when he see the Losers run into the room just as more guards do as well. Eddie grins behind the mask, jumping at the next guard. “Get to Pitch, don’t let him escape!” Bev yells as Ben throws her away at two guards.

Eddie whirls around, seeing Pitch all too startled in the middle of the battlefield, hands tugging at the collar. Eddie grits his teeth, and Pitch looks at him, with wide eyes, as if they were begging him to help. And Eddie makes the decision before he could consult any of the Losers, knowing they wouldn’t agree.

He conjures another dagger, throwing it with precision.

Richie’s eyes widen, but the dagger strikes through the collar, and Richie quickly rips it off, blinking a few times.

“Lume what did you do?!” Stan cries out, but before Eddie could justify his actions, another loud explosion sounded. Eddie winces, whirling around and he could feel himself freeze, actually freeze at the sight in front of him. There were more guards, even more than they could already handle.

But there were also two figures Eddie thought he’d never see in real life; Wentworth and Maggie Tozier.

And Richie moves before Eddie could comprehend it, running at one of the guards and striking out. Eddie almost wants to smirk, but Richie rips at the costume, pulling off the jacket one was wearing and slipping it on.

“NO!” Eddie cries out, but Richie already transported, appearing behind Bill. He strikes out quickly, kicking Bill down to the ground and transporting again. Eddie can feel betrayal churning in his stomach, and he launches himself forwards, throwing more daggers than he can comprehend.

His eyes were only on Richie, and where he would appear.

Richie jumps into the room again, now behind Ben, but Ben quickly spots him, striking out. Richie disappears again, now behind Bev. She quickly slips past his reach, jumping on his back and wrapping an arm around his neck. Her eyes are filled with anger, not even betrayal in them. 

She _never_ trusted him.

Her mouth opened, and Eddie could see fangs growing for a moment, until she suddenly fell off Richie, landing on the ground. Eddie’s eyes widen, whirling around to Maggie, who was smirking from the side-lines, eyes trained on Bev. The red-haired girl’s eyes were wide with disbelief, climbing to her feet.

Or at least, she tried to, immediately slamming to the ground again.

Eddie narrows his eyes, running at Bev. He jumps in front of her, letting light explode from his body. “Thanks.” Bev breathes in behind her, looking around. Eddie didn’t reply, immediately jumping at Richie. He _had_ to, he was the only one who could counter Richie, who could match him.

So he swipes at him, ducking low and hitting Richie. The curly haired boy lets out a sound of pain, stumbling back and disappearing again. Eddie whirls around, conjuring two more daggers and throwing them at the guards, but there were too many, too many to fight, but they didn’t have a choice.

Eddie jumps at more guards, climbing onto their backs and forcing his hands over the eyes, letting light explode from his hands. The guard cries out in pain, stumbling backwards and slamming Eddie into the glass that was still miraculously standing after all the explosions and powered people.

Eddie cries out, kicking off the guard to make him stumble forwards. And he knew that guard would be blind for at least a few days. He was about to attack another, when the pain in his ribs suddenly flare up. He cries out, as if the pain was trying to escape from his body. He stumbles, crashing to the ground.

Pain, that was all he could feel, just never ending pain. His ribs, the pain, it just kept increasing, increasing even more, almost as if…

Eddie could barely think, could barely understand what was going on but he just acted on instinct, allowing his whole body to light up. Light explodes behind his squeezed shut eyes, and suddenly the pain dulled to what it was before. Eddie chokes on a sob, scrambling and stumbling to his feet.

He knew what that was, Wentworth’s power, and the only reason he was standing was because he had stopped it. And then another cry sounds, an agonising cry of pain, and Eddie can feel his blood run cold at that, because he recognises that scream, knew that scream all too well.

He whirls around, seeing Stan writhing on the ground, Bill behind him with terrified eyes, trying to snap Stan out of it. Two guards, the last guards Eddie duly noted, were making their way to them.

“Brawn throw me!” Eddie could hear, and before he knew it Bev flies through the air, latching onto the guard’s back and immediately biting. The guard cries out, but the venom works all too quickly, muscles cramping up and the guard crashes to the ground, Bev jumping off and immediately running up to Stan.

A cry of a bird sounds, and Mike flew into the last remaining guard, sending him crashing to the ground. Eddie could see they were all tired, battered from the fight that lasted too short. And he could see Richie jumping over to his parents, who were standing there with clear satisfaction on their faces.

Wentworth was focusing on Stan, no doubt the cause of his pain, and guards were standing next to them, waiting as Maggie held up her hand to keep them there.

Eddie runs as quickly as he could, jumping forwards and in between Wentworth and Stan, letting light explode from his body again. He stumbles, feeling sweat trickle down the side of his face. Stan’s screaming stopped, and he splutters behind him.

“Osprey?” Bill asks, not even stuttering. Stan gasps, coughing painfully.

“Resisting is futile Losers, you know you can’t keep this up.” Wentworth spoke, but it was clear that Eddie was acting like a shield. If they couldn’t see them, they couldn’t use their powers. But the worst part was that Wentworth was right, Eddie couldn’t keep this up for long, and they all knew it.

“What do we do?” Bev asks with a terrified voice. They were driven into a corner, no way out of the room. They couldn’t escape.

“I can shield you guys, blind them for a moment.” Eddie grits his teeth, shutting his eyes as more sweat made its way down his face.

“Lume no, we’re not leaving you.” Bev snaps but Eddie shook his head frantically.

“You have to, it’s the only way. You can find me, I know you guys will okay?” Eddie asks, gasping even more. “But you have to go now, on three I’ll blind them, and you run for it. That’s not a suggestion, that’s an order.” And he knew he wasn’t leader, that was Bill, but they also knew not to go against him right now.

“We’ll find you Lume, I promise.” Bev whispers, and he could hear the rest of the Losers speak as well but he couldn’t comprehend what they were saying. He grit his teeth, taking a shaky breath.

“3, 2, 1, now!” Eddie cries out, taking a few steps forwards and allowing light to amplify, exploding the whole room with light. He could hear guards cry out, but he was only focused on the sounds of footsteps running away behind him. He grit his teeth, head swimming but he had to.. he had to give them time.

But he couldn’t give them more.

Eddie stumbles, crashing to the ground and suddenly all the light was gone, vanished into thin air.

“Follow them!” Wentworth snaps, and Eddie can just see how the guards ran out of the room, before pain explodes behind his eyes. He can’t even cry out, too exhausted from using his powers like _that_. His mouth flies open, a silent cry of pain on his lips as he writhes on the ground.

It felt like his whole body was being ripped into pieces, and he could do nothing but lay on the ground, a silent cry on his lips… before it was suddenly gone.

Eddie heaves in a breath, spluttering and trying to get to his feet, but he immediately slams to the ground, head swimming.

“Stay down.” Maggie hisses, and Eddie didn’t even need to look to understand, she was using her powers. Eddie swallows thickly, trying to compose himself and glancing up. He couldn’t even get himself to move, still on his side, but he knew he’d feel powerless either way, no matter how was positioned right now.

Richie was between Maggie and Wentworth, staring at him with emotionless eyes.

“Well done son,” Wentworth smirks, putting a hand on Richie’s shoulder, Richie winces. “You should’ve killed him when you had the chance, all that power, it could’ve been yours.” He continued, now looking at Eddie. The boy scowls, but he can’t get himself to respond, only scrunch up his face in confusion.

Wentworth grins knowingly, and Eddie hates how much he looks like Richie right now.

“But you of course didn’t even know about that,” He adds, glancing down at the way Eddie’s body still shakes from exhaustion, from the pain he had just felt. “It’s rare but sometimes people are born as opposites, water and fire, reality warping and anchoring, or in your case; Light and shadow. And they are bound together.” Wentworth explains.

Eddie just glares seemingly the only thing he can do right now.

“You could work together of course, but you could also kill the other to steal their power.” Went finishes, glancing at Richie with a grin. Eddie can feel his blood run cold, glancing at Richie with a fearful expression.

“You have one last chance to prove yourself Richard, after your failure to retrieve Sonia’s son.” Maggie cuts in, a stoic expression on her face, but her eyes were focused on Eddie. Richie swallows thickly, even Eddie could see that from here, and he slowly makes his way over to Eddie.

He raises his hands, as if he was holding a platter, and he allows his hands to darken, smoke coming out of them. He glances at Eddie, and one look was enough for Eddie to realise that Richie didn’t want to do this.

Eddie can’t help the fearful cry as the smoke travels towards him, grabbing him and pulling him up. Richie stops in front of him, towering over him it seems like. Smoke spread across Richie’s entire body, travelling seemingly everywhere, and slowly the smoak rose and wraps around Eddie’s neck.

Eddie’s eyes widen, clawing at the smoke but it just felt cold, ice cold. Richie looks at Eddie, tears welling up in his eyes. He licks his lips, sighing in defeat.

“I’m sorry Eds.” Richie whispers, too soft, inaudible to Wentworth and Maggie. And then Richie disappears in the shadows, appearing in between his parents. They both startle, heads snapping towards Richie, but he is faster, putting his hands on his parents’ shoulders, and before they could do something; he disappears again into the shadows.

And Eddie is left all alone with the clear knowledge that Richie sacrificed himself to protect _him_. He crashes to the ground, head spinning.

Eddie’s eyes roll into the back of his head, and he passes out before he even hit the ground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay redemption....?


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had no time last week to post it cause I still had a resit last Monday (but I passed yay), so in case it’s been too long: Eddie went to see Richie’s hopes, and then Nox came for Richie. But we never saw what Eddie saw when he went into Richie’s hopes, so here’s that flashback. Hope you enjoy!

_“Don’t freak out-” Eddie says, putting his hand on the exposed skin of Richie’s neck. A white light flashes in front of his eyes, and he was pulled into Richie’s mind._

_Eddie blinks a couple of times, adjusting to the sudden darkness around him. He was back in the forest again, which wasn’t weird considering many minds were here. But Richie’s mind was dark, not completely, just darker than usual. Eddie takes a deep breath, looking around the forest._

_“No Richie get off me!” Eddie snaps his head up, because that… that was his own voice. And he sounds distressed, out of breath. Eddie iss running before he can comprehend it. It’s not real, it’s not real. But the thought isn’t coming through, and he just runs towards the sound._

_He lets out another yell, and he can hear laughter just seconds before he reaches it. Eddie stops, blinking heavily at the sight in front of him. He was laying in a hammock, in some weird cabin of some sorts. There is no light around him, and Eddie suddenly realises he was underground._

_He is lying in the hammock, Richie on top of him with a bright grin on his face, holding his arms above him with one hand._

_“Just say the word Eds-” Richie grins, but Eddie shakes his head, trying to buck Richie off. Richie immediately attacked Eddie with his free hand, running his fingers along Eddie’s side. Dream Eddie immediately bursts into a laughing fit, and Eddie absently moves his own arm towards the side, knowing all too well he isn’t going to feel anything._

_But the Eddie in front of him laughs loudly, hiccupping through the giggles as Richie attacks his sides._

_“S-S-Stop!” Eddie laughs, trashing below Richie, and the curly haired boy lets up, grinning still. Dream Eddie heaves, running a hand through his hair and trying to compose himself. “Asshole-” Eddie shoots back, but a faint smile lingers on his face. Richie chuckles again, leaning back a little._

_The hammock sways, which only makes Richie grin wider, moving erratically in the hammock._

_“Richie!” Eddie screeches, clamping to the sides of the hammock with wide eyes. “Richie you’re go-” But it is too late, there is a sound of the rope straining just moments before it snaps, sending the two boys to the ground. Eddie lets out a loud oof, Richie landing on top of him._

_“Huh this is usually how my nights with your mom start-” Richie muses, and both Eddie’s scowl at the remark._

_“That’s fucking disgusting,” Dream Eddie retorts. “I don’t make jokes about your mom.” He adds, and Richie frowns slightly, leaning back a bit._

_“Who?” He asks, and real Eddie cocks his head in confusion, nose scrunching up. There is a silence, where neither boy knows what to say._

_“I don’t know what I want with them,” A familiar voice cuts in, and Eddie jumps as Richie, real Richie, stands next to him, looking at the scene in front of him._

_“What do you mean?” Eddie croaks, glancing between the real Richie and their fake counterparts._

_“I don’t know if I want them dead, or if I just want to get away, do I want them locked up, do I want them 6 feet under?” Richie explains, shrugging slightly._

_“But I was right, you want to escape Nox.” Eddie whispers, and this time Richie glances at him, tears in his eyes._

_“You weren’t supposed to find out, nobody was.” He croaks, but Eddie shakes his head._

_“We can protect you Richie,” Eddie whispers, but Richie shakes his head, an accepting but defeated look on his face. He turns back to the other two versions of them, wrapping his arms around each other and frowning slightly. “How are you even here?” Eddie asks, turning away as well._

_Richie chuckles, an amused smile on his face. “It’s my mind Eddie Spaghetti, these are my hopes.” He says, gesturing to the scene._

_“So why the hammock? Or the underground house?” Eddie asks, watching as he climbs to his feet, huffing as he makes his way over to the wall the hammock was attached to. Fake Richie was just grinning, sitting up and crossing his legs, glancing at Eddie as pulled the hammock back up._

_Richie sighs, stepping forwards to reach the fake counterparts, kneeling next to his fake Richie. He seems happy, carefree as he watches Eddie put the hammock back on, with little success so far._

_“It feels right-” Richie whispers, a content look on his face. “I guess I saw it in a movie once,”_

_“I would’ve expected a more elaborate hope from you, a little more… excitement.” Eddie says, and Richie raises an eyebrow._

_“Excuse me Eddie Spaghetti, but are you hope-shaming me?” Richie retorts, laughing softly. “What do you suggest, a bouncy castle? A mansion?” Eddie scowls at him, shrugging as he makes his way over to the real Richie. His fake counterpart had managed to put the hammock back on finally._

_“No, I was just surprised to see this,” Eddie whispers, absently as he watches Richie climb into the hammock again._

_“Hey it’s my turn!” Fake Eddie cries out, and fake Richie grins up at him, flashing his teeth._

_“I don’t see any sign?” Richie retorts, and real Richie chuckles at the remark, glancing at Eddie for a quick second. “You can always join me if you want~” He teases, and Eddie huffs, walking over to Richie and standing next to him._

_“Like this?” Fake Eddie replies smugly, throwing a leg over into the hammock, climbing in with his knees on either side of Richie’s body. Fake Richie gapes up at him, a blush forming on his cheeks. Real Eddie eyes at Richie, but he seemed mostly embarrassed by the display of his hope._

_Eddie tore his gaze from real Richie, instead going to their fake counterparts. He could see himself smile lazily, leaning forwards to-_

_BANG!_

_The hope warps, suddenly slamming Eddie back into the forest. His eyes widen. “Richie?” He cries out, but Richie wasn’t there anymore. Another loud explosion sounded, and before he knew it, he was thrown out of Richie’s head._

*

*

*

Eddie gasps, eyes flying open. Immediately pain rushes through his body, and he groans loudly, laying back down. “Ow-” He mutters, squeezing his eyes shut and breathing heavily through his nose, trying to get the pain to a manageable level. A low moan escapes his mouth as it slowly subdued.

“You're awake!” A voice cuts through the silence, and Eddie carefully opens his eyes, groaning at the light. Above him was Bev’s face, smiling brightly at him. Eddie blinks again, looking around the room, spotting Stan sitting next to the bed on the chair, looking at him with a relieved smile of his own.

None of the other losers were around, but that was okay, they were known to crowd when someone in their team got injured, so he was glad it was just Bev and Stan.

“What happened?” He croaks, trying to put his arms under him, sitting up slightly but Bev immediately reaches forwards, helping him up with one hand and pulling the bed up with the other. Eddie releases a shuddering breath, leaning back against the now elevated bed, glancing at Bev.

The redheaded girl sits back on the bed again, sitting with her legs crossed.

“You protected us from the Tozier’s, you remember that?” Bev asks, and Eddie nods softly, frowning slightly.

“Are you guys okay?” He croaks immediately, and Bev smiles at him.

“When we ran away those guards came after us, but Bill went invisible and distracted them from behind, we managed to take them out pretty quickly,” Bev explains, getting straight to the point. “When we got back, they were gone and you were passed out, we brought you to headquarters but you’ve been out for a day-”

“He saved me-” Eddie suddenly gasps, eyes going wide and latching onto Bev’s arm. “Bev he saved me, I told you he’s good, you have to believe me.”

“Eddie!” Bev snaps, grabbing Eddie’s arm and shaking slightly. “We saw the security footage, we know he saved you.” She says and Eddie’s eyes widen.

“So you believe me? You believe him?” Eddie gasps, and Bev nods.

“We all saw the footage Eddie, so yes, we believe you. And we’re going to help him, get him out of there.” She spoke, and Eddie frowns.

“You know where Nox is?” Eddie asks.

“We put a tracker on him, Pitch transported a couple of time before he moved somewhere else in the city, it took five more minutes before the tracker went offline, we’ve been planning the attack ever since.” Stan speaks up, and Eddie glances at him, putting his hands under him and trying to push up again.

“When?” Eddie hisses, squeezing his eyes shut in pain.

“Oh _you_ are not going.” Bev frowns, pushing him back again. Eddie hisses, glaring at her. “Eddie you’ve been out for a day, you are in _no_ condition to fight.” Bev affirms, glaring back down at him.

“I have to save him Bev, he saved me, I have to get him out!” Eddie shoots back but Bev shakes her head.

“ _We_ will save him Eddie, we’ll get him home, okay? But you need to rest-”

“Like hell I do!” Eddie hisses, slapping Bev’s hand away and trying to push himself up again.

“Eddie-” Bev whispers, looking at him with a sad expression. Tears jump in Eddie’s eyes, and he falls back down, chest heaving. His eyes flutter, and Bev knows that Eddie isn’t going to be able to stay awake for much longer. Bev reaches out, grabbing Eddie’s hand gently and squeezing.

Eddie glares at her, but Bev just smiles sadly, knowing that Eddie was just feeling frustrated, feeling scared. And she stays with him until he eventually passes out again.

*

*

*

“I hate you, I can’t believe you just left me!” Eddie hisses, glaring as Bill and Stan walk into the room. His glare softens when he sees the looks on their faces. “Where is he?” He croaks, but Bill shakes his head, sitting down on the chair next to the bed, where Eddie was sitting up on the bed.

Bill sighs, shaking his head, which was enough for Eddie to understand, at least, understand _enough_.

“He wasn’t there, Eddie. We think they knew we would come, and they went somewhere else.” Stan says, walking over to the other side of Eddie’s bed. The smaller boy was sitting cross legged on the bed, still looking a little exhausted but awake nevertheless, and sitting up as well.

“What?” Eddie whispers, frowning in confusion. Both Stan and Bill had new injuries, cuts and forming bruises on their arms and faces. Bill less than Stan, but both still had injuries.

“N-Not everyone was g-gone, just the important ones.” Bill explains, shaking his head slightly. “Pitch, his parents, the Bower’s gang-”

“Your mom.” Stan adds softly, and Eddie frowns, glancing down. He wasn’t sure _how_ to feel, what to think. He didn’t know if he wanted his mom to be in hiding somewhere else, or if he wanted her to be here, in the compound. He didn’t know if he wanted to have his mom near him again. “Eddie?”

Eddie didn’t react to Stan’s question, frowning still.

“We’re going to f-find him Eddie, both Richie and y-your mom-” Eddie snaps his head up, cocking his head in confusion.

“How do you know his name?” He asks sharply, and Bill sighs, glancing at Stan for a second but it seemed like Eddie knew the answer already before either of them answered.

“You saw the security footage-” Eddie breathes out, frowning still. Bill nods, while Stan remains stoic.

“So you know he knows my secret identity.” Eddie states, and Bill nods again, looking almost apologetic for listening in to the conversations Eddie has had with Richie over the course of the last few days.

But at least the secret was out, and the Losers didn’t seem to be freaked out completely by the revelation, which was.. _something_.

Though the revelation was completely overruled by the fact that Richie was still missing, and they had _no_ idea where he was.

*

*

*

He found himself in a white room, edges blurring very obviously. Eddie squints slightly, sucking in a hesitant breath.

“Hello?” He asks hesitantly, and someone snorts behind him, the sound echoing through the space. Eddie whirls around, eyes widening when he saw nothing.

“That’s the worst cliché-” A distorted voice says, and Eddie frowns, conjuring two daggers in his hands. He crouches slightly, whirling around and trying to spot whoever said that. “Don’t you know better than to reveal your presence to someone you don’t know?” The voice snickers at him.

There is a sound behind him, and Eddie shoot a dagger without looking, turning around quickly. There was a sliver of black, and Eddie narrows his eyes, taking a step forwards. It was as if wind was blowing around him, but that doesn’t make sense, they were inside the building, inside _a_ building.

There shouldn’t be any wind around, but Eddie knows it wasn’t truly wind, it just sounded like it. And the only thing that sounded like that was-

Eddie whirled around, daggers drawn and pointing at Richie, who was staring back at him with a grin on his face, staring down at him. For a moment Eddie is too shocked to move, daggers still drawn and body ready to move should he need to attack, and he stares at Richie for a moment.

“You idiot!” Eddie cries out, throwing the daggers at Richie with a scowl. “What happened to not revealing your presence?” He hisses, glaring at Richie. The curly haired boy just laughs, voice light.

“I know you, Eds,” He shot back with a wink, glancing around. “Besides, this isn’t real, there’s no danger her.” He says, throwing his hands up and twirling around as if he was showing off the room. Eddie frowns, glancing around the room again, but there was nothing, absolutely nothing.

It was even like there were no walls around him, no barriers to the space they were in, which made _no_ sense.

“How do you know?” Eddie asks, and Richie looks back at him, a now more serious expression on his face.

“We’re connected to each other, we’re in each other’s heads.” Richie explains, glancing up and down. “I must say I really thought I’d be in your mom first, but I can live with this as well.” Richie jokes, and Eddie scowls, glancing at the wall again.

“So what are you hiding?” Eddie asks sharply, turning back to Richie again. _That_ seems to put Richie off, and the smirk slips off his face. Eddie doesn’t let up, taking a few steps forwards until he was standing directly in front of him. Richie looks down at him for a moment, eyes meeting his.

And for a moment it is as if Richie was gauging his reaction, to see if he could lie. Then, Richie sighs, hanging his head and taking a step back to lift his right hand. A black colour spreads from his arm, travelling to his hand, his fingers and then spilling out, slowly but surely covering the entire room.

Eddie blinks, trying to adjust to the new scene in front of him. Richie sighs, taking two steps back and sitting down on the ground. Eddie looks around in horror.

“At least I don’t have to worry about flashing my junk-” Richie chuckles humorously, but Eddie didn’t pay attention to the comment, looking around the room. It was a tiny cell, barely 20 squares feet, and Eddie was standing on the other side of the bars, looking at Richie with a horrified expression.

“What the fuck?” Eddie curses, walking over to the bars separating him from Richie and grabbing them. But Eddie didn’t need to speak at the lack of _anything_ in the room.

“Yeah I want my money back, fuckers didn’t even give me a toilet. Now what’s my excuse for flashing my junk?” Richie tries to joke, but Eddie shot a glare back. “Yeah… I know, not funny.” Richie whispers, looking down and gnawing at his lip.

“Tell me where you are Richie, we can come get you.” Eddie says, pulling at the bars even if he knew it was no use. Richie chuckles, but it was devoid of any emotion, shaking his head.

“You already know where I am Eddie,” Richie says, looking up and tapping his chest. “In here, you know where I am. But don’t come for me, there are too many.” Richie croaks, but Eddie isn’t having it.

“Like hell I will leave you there-” Eddie hisses, conjuring a dagger and slicing through the bars, or at least… he tried to. His eyes widen, and Richie chuckles again.

“Yeah they are smart enough so even your daggers can’t cut through it.” Richie mumbles, but Eddie frowns.

“But they can cut through anything.” He croaks, and Richie sighs, standing up and walking over to the bars. Eddie blinks, staring at the collar that was suddenly surrounding Richie’s throat, too tight, too restrictive. His Adam’s apple popped painfully against the collar, and Eddie could see blood dripping off his body.

“I told you, it’s too dangerous-” Richie whispers hoarsely, wincing in pain.

“Are they hurting you?” Eddie asks, trying to reach Richie through the bars, but Richie winces as bright light suddenly exposed the entire room, and Richie tries to put up his arm to shield himself, but they arere tied behind his back, chains rattling.

“Don’t come for me Eddie.” Richie croaks, but Eddie shakes his head frantically. “Thanks for everything.” Richie whispers, and he allows smoke to spread from his body, covering the room and pushing Eddie back.

“Richie wait!” Eddie screams, but Richie pushes back. “Richie please, you know I won’t stop looking for you!” Eddie tries again, and Richie stops for a moment, eyes going wide.

“Just leave it Eddie, I’m not worth it-”

“Yes you are!” Eddie snaps. “You are worth saving, and we’re not going to stop until we do. We already raided your headquarters, half of the guards are in custody right now. And we’ll find you, you can’t stop us. But you can help us, you know the layout, you know who’s guarding you, that can help us win!” Eddie says, desperation seeping through his voice.

And slowly but surely, Richie stopped pushing Eddie away, the smoke vanishing into the light. Richie hangs his head for a moment, sighing.

“You’re coming either way, aren’t you?” He mumbles, and Eddie narrows his eyes in determination, walking up to Richie’s cell. And the bars separating them vanish, allowing Eddie to walk up to Richie. He conjures a dagger, slashing through the restraints keeping Richie’s arms on his back even if he knew it wouldn’t do anything in real life.

Richie blinks a couple of times, rubbing his wrist. “Like hell I’ll let you stay there, so you better start talking Tozier.” Eddie retorts, and Richie sighs again, glancing up at Eddie.

“What do you need to know?” Richie asks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rescue time next chapter!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rescue time!!

“Are you ready for this?” Mike asks, glancing at Eddie. The smaller boy has his eyes narrowed with determination, stuffing the rest of the weapons in his uniform and pulling the guards around his arm tight.

“More than ready.” He says, and Mike holds out an arm for him, which Eddie gratefully accepts. Mike was in his own uniform as well, mask still resting on top of his head but ready to put it on any minute now. All of the Losers were ready to go, but Mike and Eddie were the only ones that weren’t in the van yet.

Mike flashes him one last reassuring smile, gesturing for Eddie to follow him. Eddie couldn’t deny how nervous he was stepping into the van, glancing at the rest of the Losers. They were all dressed up in their uniform as well, Stan working on the computer and running through the plan one more time.

It was actually laughable simple, which was a recipe for disaster of course. Richie had walked him through the security measures, and they talked for hours on how they could approach this the best way. And with the help of Bill and other members of Imperium, they managed to get a solid plan.

The others would serve as the forefront, distracting as many guards as possible so the Losers could slip through the back. Richie had known the compound they were in, knew the ins and outs, and knew of the secret entrance at the back of the building that wound lead them straight to the basement.

It was built as a way for Nox to escape if necessary, but now it was a way to break in instead.

There would maybe be a few guards, but Richie wasn’t guarded as far as he could tell, and with the 6 of them it would be easy to rescue him. And they would get out of the building before they were spotted hopefully, and they would bring Richie home, where he’d be judged by Imperium like Eddie was when Bev picked him up all those months ago.

Eddie takes a breath in, watching the screen absently as Bill drove the van, disguised as a random man to avoid suspicion.

“T-This is as c-close as I can get,” Bill says as he stops the van, and the Losers were immediately up on their feet, knowing that the van would not be able to get too close. They all hopped out, masks over their faces as they quickly followed Bill, who was now looking like himself again, through the streets.

It was dark outside already, but Eddie had no trouble seeing, and the moon was giving them enough light to go about. They quickly and quietly made their way over to the entrance, stopping when they could spot it. Bill held up his arm, as a sign for them to stop and he brought his other hand to his ear, listening with a frown.

The rest of the Losers could hear it too, waiting for a confirmation that they could go. Eddie was almost shaking on the spot, filled with nerves and anticipation. The waiting was killing him, he would rather just go in and fight already, but he also knew that it didn’t really work like that.

They waited minutes, not even that long but it already felt like a lifetime to Eddie, until they finally received the confirmation that they could move. Bill lowered his arm and they were gone quickly, dashing through the night and over to the building, and going around the back of it.

Eddie instantly spotted the place, it was exactly like Richie had described it. Mike moved quickly, shuddering with power. The usual cry wasn’t there, but Eddie knew what animal he was channelling, the gorilla. Mike hit the ground hard, splintering the bricks. It took a couple of hits but all too quickly the trap door revealed itself.

“Well that’s just shitty design,” Bev snorts as Mike stepped aside for Eddie.

“Not really, it’s not meant as an entrance, only as an exit.” Ben replies as Eddie conjures a dagger, slashing through the two locks that held the door in place. And Ben was right of course, there wasn’t any way to open the door from this side, and it was only because they _knew_ where it was that they found it.

Mike moved with Ben, reaching for the door and pulling it out, revealing a narrow entrance under them. Eddie moved first, conjuring another dagger, and stepping into the hole. He let himself fall down, landing on his feet easily. It wasn’t a low drop, Richie had told him so, and he trusted him.

The rest of the Losers quickly followed, Ben pulling the door back over the spot, not like it would do too much. Eddie kept the dagger out, already walking through the tunnel that got deeper rather quickly until eventually they got to the end of the tunnel. Eddie immediately looks up, narrowing his eyes as he tries to gauge how high up that was.

“I told you guys, exit.” Ben says as he walks up to Eddie, glancing up as well. There were no stairs, no sides to hold onto, and thus no way to climb up.

“How do you survive this fall?” Mike asks, and Eddie lets the light intensify a little more, and he didn’t need to speak. They could all see the rope hanging from the ceiling.

“Okay Brawn, Loris, you’re up.” Eddie speaks softly, and Bev nods walking up to Ben. He looks at her quickly, but they’ve done this enough times now. Ben grabs Bev’s arm before literally hurling her upwards. Bev narrows her eyes as she flies upwards, quickly grabbing the rope and swinging herself onto the ledge.

She turns around quickly, throwing the rope down entirely. It didn’t quite reach the ground, and Ben had to help Bill and Eddie up a bit for them to reach the rope. And Mike helped Ben up so he could climb upwards as well, both Mike and Stan simply flying to the top quickly.

“That wasn’t so bad huh?” Bev grins as she helps Bill onto the ledge, and he chuckles as well, seeing as the rest of the Losers get on the ledge as well. After making sure they were all okay, they quickly moved again, getting to the door leading them back into the building. Eddie quietly slashed at the door, pushing it open.

He walked out quickly, scanning the room. “Guys something's wr-” He didn’t have time to finish the sentence as someone suddenly attacked him. He cries out in surprise as shards of ice fly at him, and he can barely dodge them, eyes widening.

“I told you they’d come,” The voice of Patrick snickers, hurling himself at Bill, striking out. The rest of Bowers gang appeared all too quickly, all five of them except Richie of course. Eddie conjured more daggers quickly, throwing them at the gang, throwing himself at Victor, throwing another dagger.

Vic growls, forming a shield with ice but Eddie’s dagger cut through it. Vic’s eyes widen, dodging the second attack and throwing a shard of ice at him. Eddie eyes widen, and Ben jumps in front of him, catching the shard with his body.

“Go find Pitch, we can hold them off.” Ben says, striking out quickly. Eddie stumbles back, glancing around the room but each Loser was battling another one of the Bowers gang, and he _knew_ that they could hold their own. So he nods, turning to the exit of the room and into the hallways.

He takes a left turn, running along the hallways. _Walk straight ahead, then turn right and the first one left again_. Eddie followed Richie’s commands in his head, conjuring a dagger and throwing it at the door, jamming the lock. He opens the door quickly, walking into the room and glancing around.

He smiles softly as he spots Richie’s cloak, running over to it and grabbing it. And he was about to turn around when suddenly-

“Argh!” Eddie cries out, dropping the cloak and hands flying to his head. Tears jump in his eyes, and he felt his stomach turn violently. He could barely turn away from the cloak before he vomited, sinking to his knees.

“You people disgust me, you break in here as if the laws don’t apply to you, kidnapping people from their homes.” His mother’s voice was all too recognisable, and that suddenly explained why he suddenly felt so sick. Eddie heaves in a breath, trying to get his breathing under control.

But it was as if his lungs were squeezing tightly, not allowing air to get in. He recognises the feeling, a feeling he never wanted to experience ever again in his life.

“We… we never kidnapped someone.” Eddie croaks, squeezing his eyes shut.

“You kidnapped my son!” His mom snaps, and Eddie cries out as the nausea intensifies. He tries to move, head whirling.

“Mommy stop!” Eddie whimpers, feeling guilt turn in his stomach as he says the phrase he swore to never repeat again. But it seemed to work, nausea immediately disappearing.

“Eddie-bear?” And his mom didn’t even need to use her powers for him to feel nauseous all over again. Eddie sucks in a breath, but the effects of his mother’s powers were still in his system, and he watched with a thudding heart as his mother walked over to him, pushing his mask off his face.

Eddie blinks up at her, not sure how to feel about the situation. He _hated_ himself for the relief he felt, not realising how much he had missed his mother. She was still his mother, no matter how much she had hurt him. Eddie swallows thickly, slowly climbing to his feet.

“You’re one of them?” His mom asks, and Eddie could detect the hatred in her voice.

“So are you,” Eddie retorts, but the sentence fell flat, and it came out too soft. He felt like the small 15 year old he was when he didn’t know about his mom’s powers, before he knew about his own. He felt as hopeless as he was back then, but he wasn’t now, he got away from her, got stronger.

“Oh Eddie-bear it’s okay, I always knew something was wrong with you, but I can fix you-” his mom starts to rant, reaching out but Eddie rips his arm free the moment she touches his shoulder. “Eddie!” His mom screeches, and tears jump in Eddie’s eyes, shaking his head.

“I’m sorry mommy-” He whispers, reaching forwards and putting his hand on her neck. There was a bright flash of light, and Eddie was back in the forest again.

“Oh Sonia I don’t know how you do it, you’re amazing.” One woman says, and Eddie watches with a frown as Sonia smiles, her arm around _him_. He looks so small, so fragile, exactly like his mother always describes him.

“She’s the best, she keeps me safe.” The fake Eddie says, smiling at his mom. Eddie feels sick, almost turning away.

“I’m sure she does honey, she hasn’t won all those awards for nothing. Everyone should be more like you Sonia, you amaze me every day.” The woman continues, and Eddie isn’t sure it was really important _who_ this was. A tear falls down Eddie’s cheek, but he doesn’t pay attention to it.

Slowly he walks up to his mother and himself, wiping the tears away.

“I love you so much Eddie-bear, you’re my-“ Eddie doesn’t let her finish, reaching out and pulling the fake Eddie into himself, the illusion going up in smoke. Sonia blinks heavily, confusion all too clear on her face, and Eddie doesn’t have the heart to stay.

He pulls himself out of his mother’s mind, and she shakes her head in confusion, and he’s gone before she realises what just happened, or rather, what she just lost.

*

*

*

He runs through the hallways, cloak almost heavy in his arms even though it barely weighed anything. He couldn’t allow himself to think about it, couldn’t allow himself to think about what he had just done to his mom. Sure he could give the hopes back but he still stole them from her, he still took them away and left her like _that_.

So he refused to think about it, rushing through hallways like Richie had instructed him to, until he got to the right room.

He quickly conjures another dagger, kicking open the door and glancing around. There were several doors on either side of the narrow hallways, and Eddie hurried over to the second from the right, slashing at the lock and kicking open the door. He was immediately met with a brightly lit room, which even caused Eddie to blink rapidly.

And if he had to blink already…

“Eddie Spaghetti?” Richie croaks, and Eddie rushes towards the bars, dropping to his knees.

“Richie!” He smiles, feeling relief spread through him. Richie didn’t even have different clothes on, just a different collar around his neck as Eddie had broken the first one. “Are you okay?” Eddie asks hurriedly, frowning as he takes in Richie’s appearance. Richie chuckles softly, nodding.

“I am now-” He whispers, voice scratchy from the way the collar was too tightly fitted around his throat. Eddie releases a shaky breath, nodding.

“Turn around.” Eddie orders, glancing around the room. There were two bright lights shining down on the cell, clearly as a punishment for Richie.. and it only made him feel worse about the way they treated Richie when he was a prisoner with them at Imperium, but Eddie quickly shook off the thought.

Richie complied without a complaint, turning around and Eddie conjures a dagger, swiftly but carefully slicing through the collar and restraints. The reaction was immediate, the collar fell to the ground with a loud thud, and smoke rushes out of Richie’s body, enveloping him.

“Holy shit-” Eddie curses, and Richie shudders, leaning forwards and breathing heavily.

“It’s the lights.” He whispers, taking a deep breath in and forcing the shadows to retreat. Eddie narrows his eyes, looking up. He immediately threw two daggers, destroying the lights. Darkness fell over the room, and Eddie holds up a single dagger as a source of light, glancing at Richie.

The curly haired boy shudders again, slowly getting to his feet and turning to Eddie.

“Thanks-” He grins, and Eddie frowns.

“What the fuck was that?” Eddie asks, but Richie shakes his head.

“Do we have the time?” Richie asks and Eddie sighs, instead giving Richie the cloak through the bars. “I just don’t do well in the spotlight-”

“Ironically enough.” Eddie retorts, and Richie chuckles, putting the hood over his face and quickly transporting over to Eddie’s side.

“Are you okay to fight?” Eddie asks sharply, and Richie nods.

“Do we need to?” He chuckles, and Eddie can see exhaustion written on his face, but he was standing, and he seemed relatively fine.

“Most probably,” Eddie murmurs, and Richie nods, gesturing for Eddie to lead the way. Eddie quickly turns around, walking out of the room with Richie close behind. it felt right to have him so close, he felt safe, guarded almost. But also powerful. But he shook off the thought, now was _not_ the time to think about that.

“Please tell me you guys have someone with healing powers,” Richie whispers, voice scratchy and bruises suddenly all too evident on his neck. Eddie glances away, focusing on getting out.

Eddie turned the corner. “We do, she’s just-“

Eddie cries out loudly as he crashes to the ground, head swirling all of a sudden. “Lu lu!” He could hear someone scream, and he couldn’t even appreciate the fact that Richie wasn’t shouting his real identity. Eddie gasps, he knew who that power belonged to, he knew it, but when he looks up he could only see guards storming at them.

Richie appears in front of him, blocking the first attack, and Eddie quickly climbs to his feet. He conjures two daggers, throwing them at the other guards. One of the guards grabbed a knife from his belt, and Richie wasn’t fast enough to dodge it, and the guard slashes at him, catching his side.

Richie hisses, teleporting away and appearing behind the guard, hitting him across the head. And then Eddie saw Richie’s face contort with pain, stumbling back and hands flying to his stomach, crying out in pain. Eddie whips his head around in panic, but he knew it before he saw them.

Wentworth and Maggie were standing behind a row of guards, a look of distaste and disappointment on their faces. Wentworth’s eyes narrowed even more, and Richie lets out another gut wrenching cry, smoke appearing around his body. Eddie didn’t think, dodging an incoming guard and stabbing them with a dagger before throwing it at Wentworth.

The man’s attention falters, turning to Eddie instead, but Eddie was prepared, and he allows his body to light up.

“Thanks-” Richie breathes out, suddenly behind him.

“Don’t just thank me, get us out of here-” Eddie grits his teeth but Richie doesn’t move.

“I can’t, there’s a shield around the rooms.”

“Well that’s just convenient.” Eddie shoots back. “So how do we defeat them?” Eddie instead asks, grunting with effort.

“Keep blinding them, I guess.” Richie responds, a tense tone in his voice, along with an uncertainty Eddie did _not_ want to hear right now. Richie couldn’t get close enough without Eddie’s shield, and Eddie couldn’t attack at the same time either.

“You guess?!” Eddie snaps back, sweat trickling down the side of his head. He couldn’t keep this up any longer, they had to think of something, and they had to do it _fast_. There was a sound from behind, and both Richie and Eddie whip their heads around, just fast enough to see two guards lift their guns.

Eddie opens his mouth, but Richie moved before he could. Smoke spread from his body, enveloping Eddie entirely before appearing behind the guards. There was a moment of hesitation, but Eddie quickly shook it off, conjuring two daggers and throwing it at the guards, glancing past them.

Maggie and Went seemed confused for a second, but quickly settled on them again.

Richie cries out in pain, hands flying to his stomach again, but Eddie didn’t have time to react before his mind swirled, sending him to the ground.

“Get them-” He could hear Maggie hiss, and Eddie whimpers, trying to get his thoughts under control. Light flickered from within him, but he couldn’t focus, couldn’t get it to move like he wanted to. He could hear footstep, but all he wanted to do was throw up, unable to make sense of what was up and down.

And then something brushed against him, a hand against his. He shudders with power, light enveloping him completely. Immediately the dizziness vanishes, and he whips his head around to watch Richie with wide eyes. He looks back at him with an equally surprised look, glancing down at their hands.

It only lasted a second before the sounds of footsteps were heard too close. Richie narrowed his eyes, disappearing into the shadows only to appear right in front of him, swiping at the guards before jumping again.

“Richie!” Eddie snaps, but Richie stayed close to him, always protected in Eddie’s light, until one of the guards lifted their guns again. A loud bang resonated through the air, and Eddie cries out in surprise as he feels a bullet graze him, snapping him out of his focus. Richie’s eyes widen, and he disappears into the shadows.

Eddie lets out a loud cry when the pain in his arm increases to an agonising rate, sending him to his knees, but Richie appeared in front of him, grabbing his shoulders. Eddie whimpers, trying to get his powers to work, but they wouldn’t respond. Richie’s eyes were wide with panic, looking at him.

And the look Eddie sent him was enough to understand. A strange expression crosses Richie’s face. A mixture of panic and regret.

“I’m sorry, Eds-” Richie whispers, and Eddie frowns.

“What are y-” Eddie starts but he stops when Richie allows shadows to pool around him, forming a temporary shield and the all too familiar blackness spreads across his chest. “Richie no!” Eddie cries out, but Richie pulls him into the shadows all too quickly, throwing Eddie into the darkness.

“Richie!” Eddie screams, whirling around. _How could he?!_ He could feel anger and worry seethe in his stomach, whirling around again and conjuring a dagger. It was just pitch black, nothing but black around him. He could hear Richie cry out, and Eddie whirls around again, trying to see _where_ he was.

He only knew that Richie needed his help. Richie cried out in pain again, and Eddie felt the world around him shake for a second. Eddie stumbles, crashing to the ground.

“What did you do?” The voice was distorted, but obviously male, and Eddie knew it was Richie’s dad.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Richie voice shoots back, only to respond with a cry of pain. Tears jump in Eddie’s around, feeling panic rise with the second. Richie needed him! He clutches his arm, feeling blood seep through his fingers, as the wound throbbed painfully, making his head fuzzy.

But what good would it do? They couldn’t defeat them, they couldn’t fight. Eddie couldn’t keep shielding them forever, and Eddie surely couldn’t attack while he was shielding himself and Richie. And Richie was a close-ranged fighter, but without Eddie’s shield he couldn’t attack either.

Unless…

Unless he transports Eddie with him.

The screaming continues, and Eddie feels something stirring in his stomach. He looks down with a frown, feeling pain flow away and light appears from his stomach, growing brighter and brighter until-

He launches himself out of the darkness, jumping out and allowing light to envelop him completely.

“Lume?” Richie gasps, and Eddie throws multiple daggers around him.

“As if you could keep _me_ locked in darkness you fucker-” Eddie shoots back, rushing over to Richie. “Keep transporting with me.” Eddie orders, and Richie frowns for just a split second but he doesn’t question Eddie, grabbing Eddie’s hand and transporting. And for a moment Eddie is so surprised at how _natural_ it feels that he forgets to attack.

Richie transports again, appearing on the other side, and this time Eddie is prepared, allowing the shield to drop and throwing multiple daggers. Richie doesn’t wait, disappearing again, and appearing in a different place. Eddie doesn’t keep track of how many times they’ve done this, but all too quickly, all guards were on the ground.

Richie doesn’t let go of Eddie, pulling him into the shadows again and Eddie understands before he even appears again. Eddie looks down with narrowed eyes, allowing himself to drop without hesitation as Richie appears high up in the air. He allows gravity to pull him down, landing on Went’s shoulders and wrapping his legs around his neck.

He pulls Wentworth down along with himself, slamming into the ground and jumping away. It’s almost like he’s drawn to Richie, finding his hand without even looking. There’s a sharp pain in his arm, but he’s gone before Went can actually use his powers on him, appearing behind them.

Eddie conjures more daggers, throwing them at the two, but they quickly dodge it, moving seamlessly. Richie pulls Eddie back into the darkness again, appearing a little further to the left. Eddie throws more daggers, this time hitting Wentworth in the shoulder, and he cries out in pain, stumbling back.

Richie jumps again, pulling Eddie with him and appearing on the other side. But it seems as if Went predicted that, sucking in a deep breath. Black veins shot out from the wound, spiralling straight at Eddie with enormous speed. Richie teleports again, appearing right in front of him.

Smoke spread out from his body, catching the attack. Richie’s body flies back at the hit, barrelling into Eddie, but they transport mid-air.

“What the fuck is that?” Eddie cries out, body lighting up again as a shield. Both of them were panting, a clear sign that they had to finish this _fast_.

“When he’s in pain he can use this as an attack, it’s much more powerful-”

“And that wasn’t useful to mention?” Eddie hisses, grunting in effort to keep the light consistent around himself.

“I am now-” Richie retorts, eyes widening and grabbing Eddie’s hand again. Richie pulls him into the shadows again, and Eddie whips his head around just fast enough to see an attack hit the wall, splintering it. Eddie recoils, but he attacks quickly, more daggers flying at the two before Richie pulls him into the darkness again.

He hears another cry of pain just seconds before he appears again, and he isn’t fast enough to dodge another attack from Went. Something slams into his chest, sending him flying back. Eddie cries out as his back collides with the wall, pain travelling through his entire body before he slumps to the ground.

“Lu lu!” He can hear Richie cry out, and Eddie blinks up, vision blurry and he sees Richie appear behind his parents, striking out quickly. They both turn around, and Richie’s eyes widen before his dad punches him in the face, sending him crashing to the ground. Eddie groans, lighting himself up again.

“Light of my life-” Richie chuckles behind him suddenly, and Eddie watches with a pained expression how Richie wipes blood off his face. He was about to make another remark when Richie suddenly reaches forwards, pulling him into the shadows just seconds before another crash sounded.

Eddie appears again, forming multiple daggers and throwing them at the two, and another row, and another row. Richie pulls him back, appearing somewhere else and throwing more daggers, only to be pulled back into the shadows again. He could hear both of them cry out in pain, and suddenly something slammed into him.

He cries out in pain and panic, feeling himself thrown backwards. There was another crash, and Eddie can feel pain explode in his right shoulder. He glances down before he can stop himself, feeling his stomach turn at the mangled shoulder, and he didn’t need to be a doctor to know that _that_ was dislocated.

Eddie’s eyes widen when he hears something fly at him, and he rolls forwards, over his good shoulder just seconds before something slams into the wall where he had just been. Light explodes from his body without thinking, and he whips his head up to look where Richie was, but he quickly spots him.

“Richie?” Eddie cries out, rushing over to him. Richie groans, eyes scrunching up. Blood was trickling from the back of his head, and he was laying on his stomach, shaking with pain.

“I can’t-” Richie whispers, trying to struggle up. “I can’t keep this up much longer.” Richie finishes, slowly regaining his balance again. Eddie can feel pain radiating through his body, especially from his shoulder, and he knows that he can’t keep this up much longer either, they had to end this quickly.

“Then let’s end it-” Eddie croaks, and somehow, Eddie didn’t know _how_ , he knew Richie understood him. Richie latches onto Eddie, pulling him back into the shadows. He appears behind Maggie and Wentworth, too close for comfort, and he feels Richie’s hand slip out of his.

He allows light to fill his body, exploding with light and brightening the entire room around him, and Richie disappears into the shadows again. Both Maggie and Went cry out in surprise, and Richie appears behind them, shadows dancing around his body like puppets in the wind.

His mother’s eyes widen, and she dives away, but his dad isn’t so quickly and he swallows him into the darkness, landing on the ground.

His mother is gone before he can turn to her, and all that was left was Eddie, and the unconscious guards.

“Holy shit-” Richie breathes out, and light rushes back into Eddie’s body, leaving him panting with exhaustion. “We fucking did it.” Richie murmurs, walking over to Eddie with shaky steps. Eddie reaches out for him, but his legs seemed just as shaky, and he crashes to the ground just as he touches Richie.

But Richie was in no shape to catch him, crashing to the ground along with Eddie.

“Eddie?” Richie cries out in panic, and Eddie squeezes his eyes shut, panting harshly. His head darted around, but his mom was nowhere in sight. There hadn’t even been a cry, she hadn’t called his name.. she just left…

“Give me-” Eddie breathes out, shaking with pain. “Give me a minute.” He gasps, desperate to get the words out. Richie nods against him, burying his face in Eddie’s embrace. Eddie’s body lit up softly, before Eddie could stop it, but he wasn’t sure if he wanted to stop it, it felt right.

Richie’s body darkened, shadows dancing around him and his shadows seemed to wrap around his light, like a puzzle, or a barrier protecting them. Eddie closes his eyes, trying desperately not to pass out from the pain. But he knew he was fighting a losing battle, he had never used his powers _that_ excessively before.

He had never felt so empty after using his powers, and clearly Richie felt the same way.

And they stayed there, catching their breaths and trying to stay conscious until Eddie lifts a shaky hand up to his ear, tapping into the communication piece.

“Lume?” Bev’s worried voice is immediately heard, and Eddie winces at that.

“Please come get us-” Eddie croaks, but his head rushes, and he can’t even hear the reaction of the Losers before he passes out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly this was first planned to be the last fight, but then I was like... No I wanna see more of Richie becoming a hero so instead I wrote them just capturing Wentworth. Richie's mom will cause more trouble later on hehe. Gotta do justice to the "Hurt/comfort" tag.  
> Hope you guys liked it!


	9. Chapter 9

“Lume? Pitch?!” A voice cries out, and Richie slowly lifts his head, squinting slightly to see who was approaching him. He relaxes slightly when he sees Loris, Brawn and Osprey rush over to him.

“Uhm-” Richie licks his lips, pointing at a random guard laying on the ground, still unconscious. “He did it-” He chuckles softly, glancing down at Eddie. The boy was still passed out in his arms, no sign of waking. The heroes slow down, looking at him almost hesitantly.

And it was Loris who moves first, walking over to them and kneeling carefully, watching him intently before reaching out. Richie couldn’t see her eyes, but he flashes her a smile nevertheless, allowing her to touch Eddie.

“What happened?” Brawn asks as Bev shuffles closer and starts to inspect Eddie, and what is wrong with him. There are wounds on Loris as well, four long scratches on her arm and side, bruises littering her face and she has been limping slightly. Richie shudders slightly, looking up at Osprey and Brawn.

Brawn doesn’t have any clear injuries apart from damage to his suit, but that doesn’t surprise him. Osprey is holding his wrist painfully, blood coating his face. But they seem fine, they are standing and looking at him with both relief and wariness, not like Richie could blame them for that.

“We can figure that out on the way back, Lume is in bad shape.” Bev says, glancing back at Brawn and he understands without Bev saying anything, walking over to them and gently picking up Eddie. The shorter boy groans in pain, face scrunching up, and Ben whispers a soft apology for that.

Richie chuckles despite the situation, leaning his head back for a moment.

“I need some help-” He croaks, and Bev frowns for a second. “Standing up.” Richie clarifies and Bev nods quickly, standing up herself and reaching out her arm to hook around Richie’s waist, helping him up. Richie hisses as his body jolts, feeling pain flare up in his ribs but he manages to stand.

“What _did_ happen?” Bev asks softly as Richie breathes heavily through gritted teeth, before settling on her face. Richie chuckles.

“Funny story-” Richie laughs humourlessly. “I think we’re going to need back-up for this-” Richie adds, and before Bev could question what the hell he was talking about, smoke spread from Richie’s body and a figure tumbles out of the darkness.

“Holy shit-” Osprey shouts, eyes widening behind the mask as he sees Wentworth laying on the ground, unconscious.

“Guards should have a collar,” Richie whispers, eyes dropping for a second but he forces them to stay open. Osprey eyes at Richie for a second before walking to the first guard, digging through the uniform, and taking out a collar all too quickly, and walking back to the rest.

Richie looks away as Osprey snaps the collars around his dad’s neck, not because he wasn’t okay with it, he just wasn’t okay with seeing it. Bev smiles apologetically, tightening her hold for just a moment as a way to tell him she was _there_ for him, as much as she could that is.

There were footsteps that could be heard, and before Richie could really prepare himself, the rest of the Losers ran in, Spirit and Anyman, followed by a dozen more from Imperium. Richie recognises most of them from the files they had, some powered and some without any powers.

Richie stiffens as they look at him with distrust, tensing as well.

“It’s okay, he’s on our side,” Osprey says, glancing back at Richie. “Let’s go back to Imperium.” He continues, gesturing for them to follow him. Richie frowns slightly, glancing at Anyman for a moment, but he seems to be okay with it. Richie snickers despite himself, so Nox was wrong about at least one thing.

As much as Anyman seemed to be the leader of the group, it simply wasn’t the case. He had joked with Eddie about it before, but he wasn’t sure yet.

Bev eyes at him with a mixture of confusion and amusement, but she doesn’t comment on it, starting to walk alongside him. Richie hisses softly, but he bites his tongue.

“I can carry you if you want to.” Brawn says, in the same sweet voice that Richie had come to love. Richie laughs, shaking his head.

“I told Eddie you’re too precious-” He snickers, and even Bev snorts next to him. “But thanks, but no, thanks. I’d rather walk the walk of shame myself. I don’t really know you Brawny-boy.” Richie says, and neither of the Losers commented on the fact that it was so awfully clear what was going on.

It was obvious but still, Richie didn’t know any of them, so to just give up that control so easily and let himself be carried. They could all understand that Richie wanted to walk for as long as he could, and they didn’t blame him.

“At least let me help.” Spirit says, walking up to him almost cautiously, like he was a trapped animal that he needed to be careful with, which was kind of accurate to be fair.

“Yes please!” Bev groans, waiting until Spirit took over the other side of Richie before Bev untangles herself, groaning as she rolls her shoulder.

“I’m not that heavy-” Richie shoots back, and Bev sticks out her tongue.

“But you’re tall.” She retorts, and Richie chuckles, shrugging. Because yeah, he couldn’t exactly go against that.

“You can lean against me if you want.” Spirit says, and Richie grins, sending him a grateful smile, but he’s too exhausted to respond with another witty remark. So he just walks through the rest of the hallways until the exit, leaning more and more on the dark-skinned teenager the longer they walk.

Spirit helps him into the back of a van, where he leans back against the side, glancing as Brawn puts Eddie in the back, laying him down, and Loris carefully lifts his head onto her lap with the most care. Richie jolts slightly when something is suddenly wrapped around him, but he quickly calms down when he notices Osprey brought him a blanket.

Nobody really knows what to say to him, and Anyman climbs behind the wheel of the van, shifting into a man Richie didn’t recognise. Spirit and Brawn were fussing over Eddie’s injuries, and all Richie could make out was that it wasn’t as bad as it looked, and he would be okay with time.

They would contact their healer, get her to tend to Eddie as soon as possible.

But Richie didn’t have the energy nor the capacity to listen to their conversations, glancing back as the van drove off, looking at the building becoming smaller and smaller all too quickly with people who he had always been taught were his mortal enemies, not to be trusted, by the same people who made him do terrible things he never wanted to.

And Richie has never felt more relieved and anxious at the same time.

*

*

*

Richie sighs warily, eyeing at the device in Bev’s hands.

“I’m sorry Richie, but I have to,” She whispers, an apologetic look on her face. Richie shakes his head, gnawing at his lip.

“I know, doesn’t mean I like it.” He shoots back, and Bev slowly walks over to him, showing him the collar as if he was an animal that would bolt at any sudden movement, which, to be fair, was an accurate assessment at the way his body was shaking and all jittery at the moment.

She glances at him, silently asking him for permission he couldn’t deny either way. He nods softly, and Bev gently reaches out, wrapping the collar around his neck. Richie jolts, feeling his power cut off, as if they were ripped away from him, and leaving him entire defenceless in front of her.

“It was this or you’d be put in a similar light cell,” Bev whispers, tipping his chin up slightly. “Though I don’t think they’d leave you alone without a collar either way.” Richie chuckles, pushing her hand away gently, not out of frustration or anger.

“Just get on with it okay?” He asks, and Bev nods. Richie glances around as Bev gathers the things she’d need. Richie didn’t know how long they had been in that van, but eventually, and all too sudden, they were inside the headquarters of Imperium, and Eddie got taken away to another med bay.

And he got escorted to this room instead.

Bev had sensed his distrust for the guards, or the doctor that offered to treat him, and instead Bev had sent them all away saying she would patch him up instead. And Bev just hoped that Richie was okay enough to be treated by her, it couldn’t be easy to be surrounded by your former enemies, completely defenceless.

At least he somehow knew Bev. “Can you take off your shirt?” She asks, walking back to him with a tray of supplies. Richie cocks an eyebrow, an amused expression on his face, masking the discomfort of being in enemy territory.

“Why Lory, that usually happens on the third date-” Richie snickers, and Bev looks at him with a deadpan expression. “Yeah yeah-” Richie adds, tugging at the hem of his shirt, but he hisses all too quickly, and Bev had to help him out of the shirt that had belonged to Imperium no less.

_They_ had put him in this outfit, and Bev wasn’t sure if she wanted it back. So she throws it on the ground carelessly.

“I have a boyfriend.” Bev shoots back, a slightly amused expression on her face as well. She walks around the bed he was sitting on, elevated the head part and guiding Richie back until he was more or less sitting up against it, a 120 degree angle more or less.

“Who? Anyman?” Richie asks as Bev grabs a clean cloth from the tray, pressing it against his nose and gently guiding his own arm towards it, a silent instruction to hold it in place.

“No he’s not, not like it’s any of your business-”

“Ouch.” Richie snickers, voice nasally from the gauze against his nose.

“I’m putting some pressure on your stomach to stop the bleeding-” Bev says, and Richie nods, glancing down as she presses the gauze on his stomach, stiffening slightly. “But it’s Brawn.”

“No way, _him_?” Richie asks, a grin on his face. And Bev was almost struck at how infectious it was, feeling a smile tug at her lips as well.

“Why? I’m not good enough for him?” She challenges, but Richie shakes his head.

“No, he just seems so precious and you’re all feisty and stuff-” Richie tries to explain. “I mean he’d lay down in a puddle if you asked him to so you can walk over him.”

“But that’s why he’s so adorable,” Bev shoots back, and Richie sticks out his tongue. “Not like I’d ask that of him.”

“I bet he’s all nervous in bed as well, constantly asking if-” Richie abruptly cuts off the sentence as Bev slaps his arm.

“And _that_ is none of your business.” She grins back,

“Hey no fair, I’m still injured!” Richie cries out mockingly, and Bev rolls her eyes, lifting the cloth to reveal the wound has now stopped bleeding luckily. “So what’s the verdict doc?” He asks, and Bev frowns slightly.

Bev had already told him they usually had a healer for these injuries, one of the three elders, but she was currently tending to Eddie, and his wounds weren’t as extensive to need healing just yet.

“I mean you’re going to need stitches for sure,” Bev says, pulling the tray with supplies closer. “Still no sedatives?” She asks, and Richie shakes his head. He wasn’t looking forwards to being sedated in any shape or form. Not like he really thought that they would attack him.

But just the thought of relinquishing control terrified him.

So Bev reluctantly went to work on the wound, cleaning it and making sure she had all the materials. Bev glances at him again, but Richie nods, leaning back against the elevated bed. Richie winces as the needle digs into his skin, almost bolting off the table. Bev stops hurriedly, looking at him.

“Don’t stop when that needle is halfway through my skin-” Richie groans, a hint of frustration in his voice. Bev chuckles despite herself, pulling the needle all the way through and tightening the stitch. Richie groans loudly. “How many?”

“Just a couple, just hang tight-” Bev says, already pushing the needle through the skin again. Richie grits his teeth, digging his fingers in the cushions below him. He was breathing heavily, refusing to look at Bev as she stitches up the wound as quickly as she could without messing it up.

Richie just didn’t look, didn’t listen, didn’t _think_. He just breathes through the pain, until eventually he feels something else on his stomach.

“All done.” Bev says, and Richie glances almost warily as Bev tapes gauze to cover the wound. Richie blinks groggily, ignoring the pain.

“I hope that’s not how you treat Brawny-boy in bed-” Richie groans, and Bev scowls, rolling her eyes.

“Shut up and let me finish.” She chuckles.

*

*

*

“I bet they’ve all seen my dick, that’s why they’re staring-” Richie huffs with an annoyed voice.

“Nobody looked at that footage Richie, they’re looking because-”

“Yeah yeah I know, I’m the enemy,” Richie brushes off, hissing slightly as Bev helps him into the elevator. The people around here _tried_ to be subtle, to not stare at him as he walks through the hallways. They had been informed that he was staying there, but that didn’t make their suspicion any less.

Richie _knew_ he was an enemy of them, and he knew that that’s why they were staring at him.

“They’ll get over it.” Bev says, still holding onto him to make sure he wouldn’t topple over. The elevator quietly moved upwards.

“Seeing is believing hun,” Richie chuckles, glancing up. “Where are we going anyways? Secret sex dungeon?”

“Just a regular one-” Bev shrugs, glancing at Richie, who had a grin plastered on his face. There was tape over his nose, broken but luckily not out of place. It was already bruising considerably but it would heal on its own if Richie gave it enough rest. He had several other bruises and cuts all over his body that didn’t even need any attention really.

His ribs were bruised, and two were cracked, but nothing much could be done about that either. The wound on his head wasn’t as bad as he initially feared, and the cut on his stomach has been stitched up as well. But the worst had to be the thick collar around Richie’s throat, reminding him that he was still the enemy.

The elevator comes to a stop, and the doors open to reveal the floor. Richie looks around with a mixture of confusion and awe.

“So are you finally going to tell me where we’re going?” Richie asks, turning to Bev. The redheaded girl grins knowingly, dragging Richie through the hallway on the right until eventually stopping at the door most to the right and putting her hand on the scanner, opening it.

Richie gapes at the sight in front of him, allowing Bev to drag him into the room. It wasn’t even _that_ big of a room, but still a considerably sized one.

“What is this?” Richie breathes out, glancing around.

“The living room.” A new voice cuts in, and Richie glances up at Osprey approaching them. He wasn’t wearing his costume anymore, but he still had the mask on his face just like Bev had. Richie could see a few cuts on his face, which would’ve explained all the blood back when they were at Nox.

And his wrist was in a cast, showing him that it had been broken.

“You guys live here?” Richie asks, and Bev hums in confirmation.

“The Losers’ club,” Bev chuckles, gesturing around the room. Richie doesn’t react to the name, glancing around. There was a sitting area on the left of the room, the area slightly lower to create some sort of pit. There was a flat screen TV mounted on the wall, a couch surrounding it in a ‘U’ form.

At the end of the room, by the windows, there was an open kitchen with an island, a few bar stools seated in front of the island. There was a dining table in the middle of the room, three chairs on each long side, and one on each end.

“What about the windows?” Richie asks, gesturing to them.

“One-way windows, you can’t look in,” Osprey says, watching Richie closely. And Richie guessed he deserved that.

“Come on, there’s more.” Bev smiles, pulling Richie along. Richie glances back at Stan for a moment, but quickly looks back as Bev drags him towards the only other door, on the right side of the room. “These are our bedrooms-” Bev announces, gesturing to the small hallways containing 8 more doors.

“All of them?” Richie asks with a slight frown, looking around. There were 4 rooms on the right, 4 on the left. Bev shakes her head.

“7 are bedrooms, the other is a bathroom.” She says, gesturing to the first one on her right. “That’s the first bathroom, and then there’s Spirit, Brawn and me.” She adds, gesturing to all the four rooms from right to left. She walks up to the last one, and it opened automatically, allowing them both to step in.

“So no locking?” He asks, and Bev smiles softly.

“Oh no I can definitely lock it, don’t worry.” She says, but Richie was already looking around the room. It wasn’t even a big room per se, but still decently sized, a little less than 160 square feet, or 15 square meters. There was an extra door to Richie’s left, on the same wall, and Richie gestures at that.

“I had my own bathroom installed,” Bev chuckles, opening the door to show the room. Richie glances into the room. It wasn’t too big, but there was a shower, toilet and sink in there. “This was initially for everyone but they didn’t mind luckily, now I don’t have to share with 5 boys.” She says, closing the door again.

The rest of the room wasn’t that spectacular either. There was a slim but high closet on the left wall, close to the bathroom door, and at the end of the room here was a bed against the left wall, under a big window, and a desk on the wall directly opposite to the entry door, also under a window.

“Perks of having the corner room, I get two windows.” Bev teases, dragging him back out into the hallways. The bathroom, the room first on the right, was filled with three showers and three toilets, all separated for some privacy luckily, leaving four more rooms on the left side of the hallway.

“Anyman, Osprey, Eddie, and then this one is going to be yours.” Bev proclaims with a satisfied look, opening the last door on the left.

“I get my own room?” Richie frowns, glancing back into the hallway as if that would reveal this was all some cruel joke. Bev shakes her head, pulling him into the room. It was as big as the other rooms, but unlike Bev’s room, which was really the only one he had seen so far, this one was basically empty.

There was a double bed in the corner, neatly made and a standard closet. Bev sighs, dropping Richie off on the bed and walking to the control panel near the door, typing something in.

“So there is a catch-” Richie murmurs, unconsciously lifting his hands up to his collar.

“Not really Rich, Imperium is allowing you to stay here, but you’re not allowed to leave your room. We’re in charge of watching you.” She explains softly, and Bev presses the last button, and Richie hears a beep in his collar at the same moment. Richie swallow thickly.

“The collar will prevent you from leaving the room on your own, only we can override it, if need to go to the bathroom, or if you need to shower.” She says, but there was a sincerity in her voice, in her eyes. So Richie sighs, nodding. “If you try to mess with your collar, or the panel, it will activate a defence mechanism, so please don't.” Bev pleads, and Richie chuckles.

“I won’t, I promise.” He says, which eases Bev slightly. She did _not_ want to think about having to fight Richie if he tried to break out, nor did he want to see him get shocked or tranquilised. “So how long will I be stuck in this thing?” He asks, hands on the collar. Bev understood why he asked.

That collar wasn’t comfortable in the slightest, and while it wasn’t as tight as their previous collar, or even the collar they had him in at Nox apparently, it still wasn’t comfortable, especially when sleeping.

“Until you’re judged by Maturin-” Richie gasps in surprise.

“He’s real?” Richie asks, frowning slightly. “I thought he was a myth you guys made up or something, at least, Nox never believed Maturin was real.” Richie continues, and Bev chuckles.

“ _They_ are real, yes.” Bev counters, and Richie raises an eyebrow.

“They as in plural or singular?”

“Singular,” Bev clarifies and Richie nods.

“So when am I going to be judged by them?” He asks. “And how definitive is their judgement?”

“You can’t really lie to Maturin, so pretty definitive.” Bev says, and Richie blows out a breath, nodding silently. “I don’t know when, Maturin doesn’t just… appear whenever we want them to. But soon I hope.”

“Will they judge my dad as well?” Richie almost whispers, not looking at Bev. The redheaded girl sighs, walking back to the bed and sitting down, gently taking his hands and squeezing softly.

“I’m sorry, but they won’t. They’re not going to judge everyone. Your parents… -” Bev stops, not really sure how to explain it. _They don’t deserve to be judged?_ but that sounded too cruel, and they were still Richie’s parents. But Richie chuckles, shaking his head, and Bev can see tears brimming in his eyes.

“No, I know what you’re going to say, I was just wondering.” Richie brushes it off, but Bev could see it was hurting him. Bev still remembers her own disappointment when her dad wasn’t going to be judged either. She hated him, still hates him, but at the same time she still had hope he could change.

That he could see his mistakes and take her back. But she also understood why they wouldn’t judge him. Just like Richie understood, but it still hurt.

“And Eddie? Have you heard about him?” Richie eventually asks instead, and Bev smiles at him, nodding.

“He’s in the medbay, Anyman and Spirit are with him. He’s okay, and should be discharged soon. He’ll be brought here.”

“So I could see him?” Richie asks, feeling his stomach churn from both excitement and nerves.

“That depends on how he feels, it’s up to him,” Bev says, and Richie nods, calming down a little. “Hey Richie? I know it doesn’t look like it now but the Losers already trust you. We saw the footage, and we saw what you did to protect Eddie. And Eddie saw your hopes-”

“But what if it’s not enough? I still hurt people, I did bad things, what if Maturin doesn’t think it’s enough?” Richie gnaws at his lip, but Bev shakes her head.

“I don’t believe that for one second, you have a kind heart, you _want_ to do good-”

“Well I also want to do Eddie’s mom, but she’s not good-” Richie snickers, and Bev scowls.

“Beep beep.” She says, and Richie raises his eyebrow. “It’s a warning to make you stop.” Bev says, and Richie grins.

“I like it.” He says, and Bev rolls her eyes, because of course he would. “But thanks Lory, that means a lot.”

“Anytime _Pitch_ ,” Bev chuckles, and Richie frowns slightly.

“I should probably change that huh?” He asks, and Bev shakes her head.

“One thing at the time okay?” She asks, and Richie sighs, nodding almost reluctantly. “How about some food first?” And as cliché as it was, Richie’s stomach growls at the mention, and he grins up sheepishly.

“Yes please.” He chuckles. Bev pats his knee with a smile, standing up to walk to the door. Richie stays put, knowing he wasn’t allowed out for the time being.

“Hey Loris?” He asks softly just as Bev opened the door. The redheaded girl turns around, looking at Richie. “Thanks for saving me, and giving me a second chance.” He says, feeling all too vulnerable at the confession. Bev’s face softens behind the mask.

“It’s not a second chance if you’re never been given one before Richie.” She whispers, lingering for a few more seconds, but Richie stays silent for a moment, looking up at her with a grateful smile.

“Thanks you for giving me _a_ chance.” He corrects himself, and Bev smiles softly, leaving the room and allowing the door to lock behind her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really didn't want to make everyone forgive or suddenly trust Richie after everything he did, so there will be a lot of distrust from essentially every side, except the Losers cause ... reasons :3 Or just cause they met up more, and they trust Eddie. Idk. 
> 
> I would love to hear your thoughts!


	10. Chapter 10

Richie startles slightly as the door clicks open, eyes going wide for just a second but he quickly slumps when he notices Osprey walking in.

“Most people sleep _in_ a bed-” Stan remarks, glancing at Richie, who was sitting on the ground, back against the bed and leaning against it. Stan puts down a med kit at the door, which was now closed behind him.

“Couldn’t sleep.” Richie shrugs, glancing back to the right to look out of the window. Stan frowns slightly at Richie’s silence, which seems too out of character for him. The bruises on his face have developed fully now, and Stan can see bags under his eyes, even more defined than yesterday.

Stan sighs, walking over to the bed and pulling a chair under him, handing Richie a plate of food. Richie silently accepts it, putting it on his lap.

“How’s Eddie?” Richie asks softly, glancing up at Stan as he dutifully starts eating his breakfast.

“He’s going to be okay, he woke up during the night a couple of times but he fell asleep again pretty quickly. He’s awake right now, eating breakfast as well.”

“Do you think I could see him today?” Richie asks, an almost hopeful look on his face, and Stan shrugs.

“If Eddie is feeling up to it, yes.” He says, a little sharply. Richie grins despite himself. He can’t exactly describe it but for some reasons he felt safe around Osprey as well, appreciated his bluntness and how unbiased he tried to remain when talking to him, unlike some other guards.

Pretty much all of the Losers were trying to not be biased, but still, he appreciated Osprey.

“Did Loris talk to you about meeting Maturin?”

“Them judging me to see if I can be trusted?” Richie counters, and Stan nods. “Not much, she just said you guys don’t know when that is.”

“Soon,” Stan says, causing Richie to frown. “Maturin can’t just be called any time, but it won’t take too long-”

“How long are we talking about?” Richie asks, bringing a hand up to his collar. “I mean as much as I appreciate the shelter you’ve given me, I’d rather sleep through the night and not be glared at whenever I walk through the hallways.” Richie tries to chuckle but it comes off as forced.

And Stan may not have known Richie for very long, but even he could see how forced it was.

Which Stan didn’t blame him for. He hadn’t worn the collar himself luckily, but he knew how freaked out he would feel if his powers would be taken away, they were a part of him, not just an extension. It was like losing an arm, unable to use it. So he understood Richie’s fear about the collar.

And it couldn’t be comfortable to wear it after all. He had seen the damage the collar at Nox had done to Richie’s throat, so that must already be hurting in general. But sleeping with a collar on couldn’t have been comfortable either. The metal digging into your skin when you laid down…

“Days, a week at most. Anyman is pulling some strings right now,” Stan informs him, glancing at Richie as he finishes the last part of his meal.

“And then what? Do I talk to them, give a speech about how they should trust me?” Richie asks, frowning slightly. Stan huffs, shaking his head.

“If you had to talk to convince them we wouldn’t even bother,” Stan retorts, a small smile on his face, or rather, a smirk. Richie gapes at him, grinning seconds later and putting his hand on his chest.

“I’m hurt Birdboy-” Richie chuckles, and Stan lifts his hand, willing the sharp claws to reveal themselves. Richie whistles, seemingly unimpressed by the display of power and merely pointing his middle finger at Stan. “See what I did there? I flipped you the bird.” Richie grins, and Stan rolls his eyes.

“I was well aware-” Stan says, and Richie grins, leaning back as if he had won some competition Stan wasn’t aware of. Until his back, and the collar wrapped around his neck, hit the bed and he flinches as it presses on his still healing bruises. Richie’s face instantly darkens at the harsh reminder.

He lifts his hand to the collar, hissing slightly at the feeling.

“Do you want me to take a look? Luminance usually tends to smaller wounds but we’re all trained to do so,” Stan offers, already standing up. Richie huffs out a breath, but he nods softly.

“You’re aware I know Eddie’s name right?” He asks as Stan walks over to the door to pick up the med kit again, bringing it back to Richie.

“Force of habit,” Stan murmurs, pulling a chair to Richie side and putting the med kit on the bed to open it. “This isn’t from us, isn’t it?” Stan asks softly as he pulls the collar out of the way slightly, or as much as he could, to expose the bruises on his throat. Richie sighs, shaking his head.

“No, one of the guards held me down when they were getting a collar. I… I tried transporting but I took the guard with me every time, so he… he kinda choked me out I guess.” Richie says, voice shaking slightly. Stan could see he was trying to hide it, trying to conceal the pain that the memory held.

But it was as if Richie was an open book when he tried so hard to close himself off.

“I’m sorry.” Stan whispers, but Richie just stays silent as Stan patches him up, “Should I check if Luminance wants to see you?” Stan asks, and Richie cranes his neck to look at him, grinning sheepishly.

“I need to pee first-” 

*

*

*

Richie isn’t really surprised when Stan doesn’t lead him back to his own room after visiting the bathroom, but instead to the room left of his own. He glances at Stan for a quick second, but he just helped him walk up to the door, and it quickly opened on its own, revealing Eddie’s room.

It was the same size as his room, but all too clearly lived in for much longer. There were several pictures up on the wall, neatly arranged. He had a twin bed as well, white covers with a greyish stripe across it. Eddie was lying in bed, covers reaching up to his lap and sitting up whilst leaning against the cupboard behind him.

“Richie,” Eddie smiles as he sees him. Bev looked up, lying on the bed with her head on Eddie’s legs.

“Shit Loris-” Richie curses immediately, squeezing his eyes shut and turning away when he realises Bev isn’t wearing a mask. He could hear her chuckle.

“You can open your eyes Trashmouth, I knew you were coming,” She chuckles, and Richie very hesitantly opens his eyes.

“So nobody will attack me for knowing?” Richie almost squeaks, and Bev rolls her eyes.

“Come on Richie, we both know you already figured it out, you’re not dumb,” Bev deadpans, gesturing to her hair, and then back and forth between her and Eddie.

“I don’t know Bev, he seems pretty stupid to me-” Eddie chuckles, and Richie narrows his eyes.

“I would hit you if you weren’t so damn cute,” Richie shoots back, and Eddie blushes slightly at that. Richie ignores it, sighing. “I had my suspicions after I realised who Eddie was and I went over your files. I wasn’t sure yet but it couldn’t have been a coincidence that you took in Eddie.”

“Yeah my aunt adopted him when he came to us, Imperium gave him a new identity as my brother. Nobody figured it out unti-”

“Until I attacked you,” Richie whispers, guilt written across his face. “Shit I’m so sorry, I swear I didn’t want to. They told me to kill you and your aunt but I never wanted to… I don’t even know what I would’ve done if Eddie hadn’t shown up.” Richie whispers, stomach churning almost painfully.

Bev sighs, sliding off the bed and walking over to him.

“That’s in the past Richie, forgive and forget right?” Bev grins, sticking out her hand. “Beverly Marsh, nice to meet you.” Bev says, and for a moment Richie can do nothing but stare at her. How could she just forgive him like that? He invaded her home, attacked her and her aunt.

He had her pinned against the wall, threatening to kill her if her aunt didn’t tell him where Eddie was. And yet she was being so friendly?

Richie shook his head, before grinning himself. “Pleasure to meet ya Mrs. Marsh, Richie Tozier at yer service.” He grins, bowing a little, which his ribs did _not_ agree with. Bev rolls her eyes, lightly punching him in the shoulder and he chuckles, hobbling over to the bed and sitting down.

“But how’s my favourite patient? Can’t have you feeling neglected while I talk to this beautiful lady,” Richie laughs as Eddie scowls at him, flipping him the bird.

“I take it back, get him out of the room, I don’t want to see him anymore,” Eddie retorts, and Richie puts his hand on his chest.

“Aaaw Spaghetti, you wound me,”

“Well I guess we’re even then.” Eddie retorts, and Richie frowns for a moment, scanning Eddie’s face. But all too quickly a smile broke on Eddie’s face, and Richie gapes.

“You little gremlin, too soon, way too soon-” Richie can’t help but laugh himself. “But how are you?” Richie changes the subject, glancing at Eddie’s body to see his injuries. He was wearing a loose white shirt that showed some of the bandages poking out of the collar, wrapped tightly around his shoulder.

There was a bandage wrapped around his upper arm, where the bullet grazed him, and Richie could even see clear bruises on his stomach and chest.

“I’ve been better, but I’m mostly exhausted from using my powers so much to save your scrawny ass,” Eddie retorts, and Richie grins.

“Hey we can’t all have an ass like yours,” Richie throws back, and Stan fake gags from the side, which Richie ignores. Eddie rolls his eyes for a moment before turning serious again.

“Did they find your mom yet?” He whispers, and Richie’s eyes cast downwards, and he gently shakes his head.

“She’s still out there,” Richie murmurs, and Eddie reaches out gently.

“They’ll find her eventually, Nox just took a big hit, only Patrick and Henry managed to get away from us, and a lot of guards were taken into custody.”

“And my dad.” Richie says, and Eddie nods softly.

“And your dad-” He acknowledges.

“Hey Eddie?” Richie says, sounding almost hesitant. And the name alone was proof of that already. Eddie hums softly. “Is it bad that I don’t know if I want Imperium to find her?” He croaks out, worried eyes shifting from Eddie to Bev and Stan. He couldn’t see Osprey’s eyes behind the mask, but he could see Bev’s.

Calculating, sharp.

“In what way?” Eddie retorts in a gentle voice, and Richie shakes his head.

“No I know she needs to be found, and I _know_ she’ll come after me, come after you guys, when she can but she’s still my mother. And I can’t help but _not_ want to see her in prison, does that… make me the bad guy?” And for a moment Eddie was sure Richie was going to take it back.

But he was completely serious, a sincere and honest expression on his face, filled with genuine worry.

“Richie of course not, never.” Eddie gawks, almost not believing that he was actually asking this. “We all do shit that isn’t _right_ , but that doesn't make you a villain-”

“It’s a bit harder to remember that when you’re raised as one,” Richie shoots back, a little harsher than he meant. He deflates almost instantly, guilty written across his face. “I know you mean well, all of you, but I can’t afford to make mistakes. People will see you as heroes, and excuse it, but with me they might take it as proof that I’ll always be a villain, including Maturin.” Richie explains.

His voice breaks halfway through the sentence, tears lingering in his eyes. Bev shuffles closer to him, taking his hand.

“Why did you decide to help Eddie?” She asks softly. Richie opens his mouth, silent for a moment.

“Because I care about him, and I don’t want to hurt anyone, let alone kill-” Richie explains, and Eddie frowns. He remembers that moment, because how could he not? Richie walking up to him, threatening him with the mission he had just been given, kill him. He was going to kill him.

Or at least, that’s what his parents wanted.

“And why didn’t you?” Stan asks, also sitting down now. Richie chuckles humorously.

“Because I’m different, weak. I was always too sensitive, a disappointment to my parents. They didn’t even _want_ me really, apparently I had an older sister Rosie who was much better than me, harsh like my parents. They have always compared me with her.” Richie mutters, a dark look on his face.

“Where is she now?” Stan raises, and Richie shakes his head.

“She died years ago.”

“Shit Richie I’m so so-” Bev starts, but Richie interrupts her.

“I was just a baby back then, I don’t remember her,” Richie says, because it was true. He had only seen pictures of her, had never met her. “Point is, I was always different, and my parents saw that. They doubled down on hardening me or some shit, which just backfired when they made me torture a guy with his worst fears-”

“They what?!” Eddie snaps, interrupting him, and Richie glances at him. Richie sighs.

“He was a big level threat apparently, he was actually really small, so that’s good for you-” Richie chuckles softly as he looks at Eddie, not really enthusiastic. Eddie scowls at the comment, biting back a retort. “They made me take his worst fears and trap him in it, that was the first time I realised what my parents were really doing.”

“You didn’t before?” Bev asks softly, without any judgement in her voice, but it was like Richie doesn’t pick up on that. His head whips around.

“I was a child, Bev-” He hisses, eyes softening almost immediately. “I was a child, I didn’t _know_ better. I just did what my parents wanted, and I thought they deserved it. They were my parents’ enemies, so they were right to hurt them, or so I thought...” Richie continues softly.

“It wasn’t your job to know whether your parents were good-”

“But that’s the problem Bev, even when I knew, I still went along with them, did what they wanted-”

“Yes because you were scared, you just told me you didn’t _want_ to hurt them, right?” Bev retorts, not letting up. Richie looks at her.

“But I still hurt those people, I stood by as they screamed and begged not to be killed,” Richie whispers, throat closing up. He shudders. “So how can I ever be forgiven by anyone, let alone Maturin?” He croaks the last part, not even daring to look at the others.

Nobody had an answer.

*

*

*

Richie tries not to look up as he walks through the hallway, not daring to look up and see everyone _stare_ at him. He didn’t need to know that they were all staring at him with disgust and suspicion. He didn’t want to think about the fact that some of them were probably there in case he did attack.

And maybe they don’t _need_ to be there, but they wanted to.

Richie doesn’t know, and he isn’t keen on finding out either, so he just keeps his head down and allows himself to be guided through the hallways.

“No dick joke today?” Bev whispers in his ear, staying close to him. Richie glances at her, cracking a small smile.

“What, you’re so desperate with Brawn’s absence that you need to be dicked down by moi?” Richie teases, and Bev scowls light-heartedly, shaking her head. “I’m okay though, both my dick and me are hard to keep down.” Richie jokes, though Bev could clearly see how Richie is right now.

Nobody was blaming him though, he would be judged by Maturin today.

This day would literally determine whether he could stay at Imperium or not. If Maturin doesn’t think he is worthy or good enough to stay, then there was no way that anyone outside of the Losers would vouch for him. Of course they wouldn’t, Richie would be surprised if they accepted him even if Maturin does.

“Try to get laid first,” Stan retorts from the other side, and Richie gapes at him at that. “It couldn’t be more obvious unless you wrote it on your forehead.” Stan deadpans at his surprised expression. Richie grins at that.

“I’ll have you know that me and your mom did wonderful things last night-” Richie shoots back, but Stan doesn’t react. Instead, he turns back to the front, where they reach a large door. Immediately Richie tenses, lifting his head and gawking at the door in front of him, swallowing thickly.

He knows what to expect, the Losers had talked it through with him before. He knew he was going to get to this door eventually, but nothing could’ve prepared him for the actual sight of it. The door is massive, almost reaching up to the ceiling and laced with gold and various patterns.

It opens with a loud creaking sound, and Richie almost wants to bolt, to just skip this and run away. But he doesn’t.

Instead he allows himself to be led inside of the room, most of the Losers around him. Brawn, Spirit and Anyman aren’t here today, leaving him with just Eddie, Bev and Osprey. And of course enough guards to make sure he wasn’t escaping. Richie grimaces inside, as if he was escaping with the collar and his current injuries.

There were already three people inside, waiting to greet him.

“Richie this is our leader, Manifest-”

“We’ve met before.” The leader interrupts, holding up a hand. Richie cocks his head, watching the man in front of him. He was wearing a mask to conceal his identity just like last time, but that was to be expected. The rest of the Losers look at him with confused expressions.

“Uhm… I gave him that scar.” Richie says, licking his lips and gesturing to the side of his head. The man in front of him narrows his eyes, bringing a hand up to the side of his head and resting his hands on the scar that lingered on the dark skin.

“And I gave you two in return that day.” He responds, and for a moment nobody said anything until Manifest slowly relaxes a bit, causing Richie to grin sheepishly.

“You two fought?” Eddie asks, slightly perplexed.

“He did, tried to attack me thinking I was too old to be a threat and ran the moment he had what he needed with his tail between his legs.” Manifest said, a hint of amusement in his voice. Richie huffs at that, crossing his arms. “One of the few who can resist my power.” He adds slowly, and Richie glances up at him when he says that.

“Not all of it.” Richie retorts, and Manifest nods.

“Very true, you may have resisted me prodding into your mind, but you weren’t skilled enough to shield yourself-” Manifest admits, raising a hand and conjuring a blueish figure. Richie watches silently as the figure reveals itself to be _him_ , standing in front of Manifest in his old costume.

He remembers that day, when he confronted Manifest and admittedly chose to flee instead of fight.

_The shining_ , that’s what Imperium called the superpower he had. Nox knew all about the power, but still, nothing could’ve prepared him for it. Blocking out Manifest prodding into his mind was tiring enough, but fighting manifestations of his previous encounters? That was too much at once.

Especially if those manifestations were faces he did _not_ want to be reminded of again.

“I’m really sorry about that day though, I was… I was following orders.” Richie whispers, swallowing thickly. Manifest narrows his eyes, letting the figure of himself fade away.

“That is not for me to decide, but for Maturin.” He says, shaking his head. Richie nods at that, the reality of the situation slamming back. The man who was to the left of Manifest took a step forwards, eyeing at him.

“Did the _Losers_ tell you what was going to happen?” He asks, a weird emphasis on Losers. It wasn’t the most flattering name after all, and Richie could see why they weren’t happy with the name at Imperium. Richie nods again, because they had, on multiple occasions in the past day he had been here.

Not that there was much to prepare him for, there wasn’t a ritual he had to do, there wasn’t a script Maturin would follow, there wasn’t something he had to bring. He just had to walk in, and Maturin would present themself and judge him.

The woman on Manifest’s right steps forwards as well, a kinder smile on her face. “Then it’s time.” She says, walking over to him and extending her hand. The unknown man, that Nox apparently knew _nothing_ about, tenses but Manifest shakes his head, and Richie understood that he knew Richie wasn’t going to try anything.

“See you on the other side Eds.” Richie whispers, pushing down his nerves.

“Don’t annoy them too much Trashmouth.” Bev calls after him, and Richie sticks out his tongue before he is gently guided towards another big door.

“So how does this work, do I just-” Richie starts, but all too quickly smoke starts to rise from under the doors, and the woman lets him go, taking a step back.

“They’re ready.” She says, and the doors slide open, leaving a gap just big enough for him to walk through. Richie looks back one more time, not even focused on the guards that are standing around, just on Osprey, Bev and Eddie. Just a few seconds, that’s all he dares to stall before walking through the door.

It slams shut almost immediately after him, engulfing him into darkness.

Richie jumps at the sound, whirling around and taking a few steps back. It was pitch black, no pun intended, with absolutely no light source. He couldn’t see anything, which should feel like a sense of comfort wash over him at that. He feels safe in the shadows, this was his place, where no one could see him.

And yet, it feels frightening.

“Hello?” Richie hesitantly calls out, turning around again, but he has no idea where he was turning to. There was no answer, just utter silence. Richie hesitantly starts walking, forcing his eyes to stay open. He wants to just teleport away, but he can’t, the collar is still wrapped around his throat.

Richie frowns as slowly smoke starts to appear beneath his feet. He takes a step backwards, and another, but it was as if it was coming from everywhere. Left, right, in front of him. He turns around, seeing smoke rise all around him. He squints, cocking his head as a shadow appears.

The room was lightning up, but just barely, just enough to make out _something_. Richie looks back one more time, but he isn’t even sure what behind him is anymore. He slowly walks over to the figure. It was moving softly, gentle rocking back and forth, and he hears it before he sees it.

“Please~” The figure whispers, hands on his ears. The world around him stays dark, black all around him with anything that was further than 6 feet away from him. “Please please… please.” The figure, a man, continues, rocking back and forth. Richie frowns, stepping in front of the figure.

“Sir?” Richie asks, almost hesitantly. But it was like the man couldn’t even hear him.

“Please please-” He murmurs, and Richie can see tears trailing down his face.

“Please what?” Richie asks, and Richie knows he wasn’t answering, but still...

“Please don’t kill me. Please-” The man continues, like a mantra. “Please please, please don’t.”

Richie jolts all too sudden, head whirling around as laughter echoes through the room. He takes a few steps back, eyes going wide. But there was _nothing_ , just blackness surrounding him. More laughter was heard, and Richie shifts, ready to defend himself before realising that he doesn’t have his powers.

And what was he even going to defend himself from?

Even an idiot could recognise the laughter as kids, and yet he let out a yell when two kids run past him.

“Holy sh-” He curses, turning around to follow them.

“Daddy!” One of the girls screams in laughter, launching herself at another figure. Richie stares in horror almost, because he suddenly recognises who this man was. It was the same man that was rocking on the ground, just… a different version.

“Hey baby girl-” The man smiles, turning to the other girl as she wraps her arms around his middle. He sighs, setting the girl down and crouching down. “I have to go.” He says, and Richie feels as if something punched him in the gut, and the whole atmosphere shifts dangerously fast.

Tears appear on both the girls’ faces, streaming down in endless rivers. They wail, flying forwards and wrapping their arms around their dad’s neck.

“No daddy don’t go!” The older girl cries, sobbing loudly.

“I have to-” He croaks in their embrace, trying to remove the girls but they are clinging to him, begging him to stay. Until the man vanishes, the girls stumbling at the sudden loss. And at the same time, the crying man drops to the ground, blood spreading around him.

Richie chokes, eyes widening as he stumbles backwards.

“You remember his name.” A voice cuts through the silence, and Richie jolts again, looking around frantically. It wasn’t even a question, it was a statement.

“Y-yes-” Richie starts, still _looking_.

“You remember this man, you killed him-” The voice continues, and suddenly a person appears in front of him, inhumanly tall, unrecognisable to him and glaring down at Richie.

“And yet you come here expecting to be forgiven?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh no.
> 
> Tell me what you think! :D


	11. Chapter 11

_“And yet you come here expecting to be forgiven?”_ The voice booms through the space, whatever that space was. Richie swallows, eyes widening even more at the sight of the person in front of him.

“No I-” Richie tries, but the words get stuck in his throat. “It wasn’t my c-choice.” He tries again, but the words were barely audible. The person, no doubt Maturin, looks down on him with an indifferent look, like they couldn’t care less.

“It was your choice to kill that man, you sealed his fate.” Maturin continues but Richie shook his head, tears trailing down his face.

“I didn’t have a choice, they would’ve killed him either way… he- I thought he was the enemy”

“A father is what he was, a husband, a human being, and you had him executed, stood by as he was killed,” The voice says, and Richie looks up in fear, unable to form words. “Or do you deny that happened?” Richie swallows, feeling his knees buckle before he falls to the ground, knees hitting the ground first.

His breath shudders, and he doesn’t dare to lift his head. Maturin moves forwards, standing in front of him. Still, Richie doesn’t dare to look at them, trying to bite back the tears. Instead he feels himself staring at the ground, grinding his teeth as his nails dig into the insides of his hand.

There is a bright flash of light suddenly, and this time Richie can’t help but look, glancing sideways. _What the-_

There was a sound of a baby crying, loudly, no shushing around him. “He is healthy, ma’am, a healthy baby boy-” Someone spoke, slightly distorted. Richie lifts his head higher, and before he can process it, the room shifts again.

“Mom?” Richie chokes out, watching the woman standing in front of a window. The woman turns around, glancing straight at him with a small smile on her face, cradling _something_ in her arms. Richie slowly lifts himself up, legs feeling weak beneath him, but he can only stare at the baby.

He understands immediately, that was _him_. His mother was holding _him._ “I don’t understand,” Richie whispers, glancing back at Maturin, but the figure just frowns, not meeting his gaze. Richie turns back to his mom, who was smiling at him, even as his younger self started fussing.

“You’ll grow up to be powerful, I know it my little one, you’ll do great. We’ll take over the world one day,” His mom whispers, rocking the baby but she was still looking at _him_. The baby coes in her arms, and Richie felt sick. Like he _wanted_ it. The scene shifts again, reality warping around him.

Richie gawks, whirling around and trying to take in the room around him. He _knows_ this room, he has been here so many times in his life. It was the main hall, his parents sitting dutifully on the throne. There were some differences, no extra chair for Sonia, some decorations missing, the Bowers gang not there.

Of course they weren’t, they were mere toddlers at this point.

“Do you have anything to say for yourself?” His mother’s voice rings through the room, and a low whimper follows it. Richie tears his eyes away from the scenery, and instead he looks at his mom’s seat. His dad is sitting down next to his mom, who was holding _him_ up. He was also sitting, smiling and watching the man in front of him.

The man was on his knees, sobbing. And his parents… they didn’t care, they just watched him as if it was a bad movie they had to sit through, as if this man wasn’t even real.

“P-Please, I h-have a w-wife-” The man tries, but his mom rolls her eyes seconds before she glances over at _him_. Richie’s breath hitches in his throat, eyes widening.

“He has to die.” His mom speaks up in a cold voice before she looks back at the man. “Wentworth.” She commands, and it was enough for him to understand. He stands up, taking two steps forwards and settling his gaze on the man.

“N-No, pl-” He doesn’t even have enough time to finish the sentence before a scream cuts through the room. The man crashes to the ground, and baby Richie startles, eyes widening and immediately looking up at Maggie. She smiled down at him, bouncing him up and down softly as a way to calm him down.

“This is how it’s meant to be little one, they are beneath us, mere animals compared to us,” She whispers, smiling at the actual Richie. The baby seems conflicted for a moment, before he giggles, and Richie can feel his stomach turn violently. The screaming cuts off, but Richie knows it’s not because the pain has stopped.

“Mommy has to take care of this bad man now-” His mom continues, standing up with him in his arms. The child giggles again, clapping his hands as she stands beside his father. The man was writhing uncontrollably on the ground, blood pouring out of his nose and ears, and Maggie narrows her eyes.

There is a short silence, mere seconds, before the man gasps out a last breath, falling to the ground.

The baby squeals, clapping his hands.

The scene warps again, and Richie immediately recognises the room as the training hall. He glances around, heart still beating loudly in his chest. He doesn’t _want_ to see more, but he doesn’t have a choice it seems like. There is a loud thud, and Richie almost reluctantly glances at the sound.

He could see himself, a younger version of himself, hitting the ground, panting harshly.

“Pathetic Richard, you can do better than that.” His mom hisses, and his younger version slowly pulls himself up, wiping at the blood under his nose. Richie swallows thickly, he was too young, too small. He doesn’t remember himself being so small, and yet it was right in front of him, just a fragile 6 year old.

“Motivate the boy.” His dad adds, and Richie glances at the nameless guard unsheathing his sword, and his younger self’s eyes widen in panic. The guard flies forwards, striking with his sword. Richie jumps out of the way quickly, a cry of surprise leaving his lips. “Don’t just dodge it you coward, attack him!”

The guard does, attacking him swiftly, but Richie dodges again. Older Richie winces as the guard recovers more quickly, driving the hilt of the sword into Richie’s stomach. Both of them wince, but it was just a phantom pain for older Richie. The younger one was about to dodge again when suddenly both him and the guard stumbles, crashing to the ground.

Richie glances up at his mom, knowing his parents all too well. Younger Richie seems confused for a moment, but his mom swiftly walks in between him and the guard, looking down at younger Richie with a disappointed look.

“Mom I’m-” Richie tries, but of course she was having none of it. Richie can feel himself shaking, knowing what was coming next.

“Kill the boy.” She announces, glaring at older Richie for a moment before walking back to her spot. Younger Richie’s eyes widen again, looking at the guard, who seems equally scared but he quickly gets up. The sword drags over the ground, and older Richie takes a step back, knowing what’s about to happen.

He had barely presented with powers at this point, could barely control it. The only thing he could do… see someone’s worst nightmares. The guard jumps forwards, and young Richie’s gaze hardens, emotions disappearing it seems like. He dodges another attack, rolling over the ground and coming up behind.

Richie doesn’t _want_ to look, and it seems like Maturin doesn’t want him to either. The scene accelerates, like forwarding a movie. He can see the fight, see all the moves, he can _remember_ the fight, and suddenly there was a bright flash, young Richie’s eyes lightning up and the video slows down again.

His mom smirks, satisfied, and the light disappears. The guard drops to the ground, eyes wide with fear but not completely out. He hasn’t mastered that at this point, he could only confront someone with their fear, not use it like he can now. But it doesn’t matter, because Richie kicks his leg out, hitting the man.

His eyes roll into the back of his head, and he lands on the ground. And before Richie can see anyone’s reaction, it changes again.

A door slams open, and Richie can see himself walk into the hallways, dragging someone behind him. “N-No, please!” The man in his grip cries out, but Richie doesn’t respond, dragging him over the floor. He was covered in blood, which was mostly Henry’s fault because he loved killing.

And Richie knows he can’t take the high ground here. He stood by as Henry and his goons killed those people in the bar, he cut the tendons of his henchman to make sure they wouldn’t come after him, he knocked this man out, and dragged him back to the compound knowing full well what was going to happen.

“As promised-” Richie says, dropping the man on the floor. His dad grins, but his mom doesn’t even react, slowly standing up. Richie doesn’t know if it was her powers that made her age so much more, but the contrast between his 6 year old self, and this current 16 year old self was huge.

He shivers at the cold gaze of his younger self, and his mom walks up to the man.

“I told you we’d be seeing each other again.” His mom sneers down, and the man looks up with tears in his eyes.

“Please-” He tries, but his mom doesn’t even seem to hear it, turning to Richie’s current self.

“Say it Richard, you can go ahead and say it already, we both know what’s going to happen-” She smiles sickly, and Richie can feel his stomach turn, unable to answer. “What should we do about him? Any ideas?” She continues, but instead she turns to his younger self, who stares right back at _him_.

“Kill him.” He says, head hanging in shame almost.

“NO!” Richie cries out, jumping forwards but just as a guard was about to slice his neck, the scene vanishes. He jumps right through it, everything going up in smoke. More scenes jump up, shorter, quicker.

He was training, hitting the guards, pulling out fears, scaring them so badly they would be unresponsive for days. He was out on a mission, taking innocent mothers from children, ignoring their cries. He was hitting men twice his size, defeating them with ease. He was standing by as his parents killed more innocents.

“Stop-” Richie sobs, curling into himself. “Please just stop!” He cries, feeling tears stream down his face. He was destroying a building, throwing personal belongings in the fire to get them to cooperate.

“You did that! You hurt those people!” The voice of Maturin booms, and Richie cries louder.

“I didn’t want to-” Richie sobs. He was hurting someone, ignoring their screams because it didn’t matter, he just had to get that information. His eyes were burning behind his mask, but they wouldn’t see, they couldn’t see. Smoke lingered around him, like a villain.

“Then why did you?!” Maturin asks sharply and Richie sits up, glaring up into the nothingness.

“Because I was scared!” He cries out loudly, and suddenly, everything vanishes, leaving him surrounded by the darkness. Richie’s breath hitches, eyes widening at the lack of anything. And slowly something came into focus, the figure he saw at first, morphing into something different.

The colour of their skin slowly turned green, but Richie is too drained to react to the giant turtle floating in front of him, glancing at him with a kind expression.

“You knew that already, didn’t you?” He mutters, bringing his knees up to his chest.

“Yes.” Maturin spoke, mouth not even moving.

“Then why?” Richie whispers. He just wants to close his eyes, go to sleep and never wake up. He’s tired, memories swirling around his head.

“A good man burdened by guilt will not accept their own goodness,” Maturin spoke again, their mouth not moving again. “And a man who hides from the past will not realise their guilt.”

“So you gave me exposure therapy?” Richie shoots back, but it was lacking any emotion, he can’t get himself to feel much. Maturin chuckles, and the scene around him warps again. Richie just chokes on a sob, staying where he was. There was a static noise around him, as if someone has turned the sound off.

But he could see himself in the training room again. He was sparring with his father, being hit over and over again.

“You remember this moment, do you not?” Maturin asks, coming down to float next to him. Richie stays silent. “He was punishing you for losing the fight, for not defeating a simple guard when you were _his_ son.”

“Your point?” Richie asks softly, couldn’t Maturin just get it over with? Condemn him so Imperium could just lock him up already? He didn’t _want_ to see this.

“I think you already know that,” Maturin chuckles, and the scene changes again. Richie winces, knowing what house this was. He couldn’t hear the crying of the two kids, but he knew they were there. The Bowers gang was standing around, laughing as they spread gasoline all around the living room where the two girls and their father were huddled.

“How does this prove anything?” Richie whispers.

“Just watch-” Maturin shushes him, so Richie does. The father’s mouth was moving, and even without the sound Richie knows what he was saying, he can remember it all too well. Patrick grins, the same disturbed smile he has grown to hate so much, dragging the trail of gasoline to the bomb.

_Your wife will be here any second, but it will already be too late_. Henry’s mouth moves, but Richie doesn’t need to hear it to know what he is saying. Patrick joins their side, taking out a match stick and letting it fall to the ground. Peter could’ve done it as well, his power was fire, but Patrick was sick, enjoyed this.

Richie watches as the Bowers gang leaves the room, and he jumps away as well, leaving the father alone with his two children, bound and helpless to get away. The fire spreads quickly, all too quickly, but before it can reach the bomb, a shadow moves over it, unnoticeable to the family, and then it’s gone.

“You saved that family, didn’t you?” Maturin asks, and Richie doesn’t look at them, staring at the scene as it warps again.

“Is that rhetorical question?” Richie asks, to which Maturin just chuckles.

“I suppose-” They say, glancing at Richie for a moment as another scene comes up, this time more recent.

“Why are you showing this? We both know what’s going to happen-” Richie whispers, feeling something stuck in his throat. He can see himself, standing in front of his parents and walking up to Eddie. Richie shivers at the display of his own powers, shadows coming out of his hands.

He never really had the time to process the fear in Eddie’s eyes, but it was clear as day as he was lifted up in the air. Fear, betrayal, hurt, it was all present in a confusing mix. Fear for _him_.

“You knew what your parents were capable of, you knew what they would do to you, and yet-” Maturin starts, and before Richie knows it, his past self jumps away to his parents. “You choose to sacrifice yourself to save Edward, why?”

“I couldn’t kill him, I… I couldn’t kill _anyone_ but especially not Eddie. It was worth it-” Richie tries to explain, reaching up to the collar where the bruises were still hiding under. The scene morphs again, and he’s on a rooftop with his parents, pulling them into the shadows before they can react.

He can jump two more times before his mom catches on, but it was enough to get him to their headquarters, in a random hallway. His mom suddenly blasts him with nausea. Richie cringes as his past self crashes to the ground, immediately vomiting. His dad strikes out, hitting him, hard. Richie winces at the blow, almost feeling the pain himself.

Richie glances up, seeing two guards appear quickly, assessing the situation and wracking their brains for an answer.

“Don’t just stand there you imbeciles, lock him up!” His mom hisses, causing the guards to move. Richie groans at that moment, stirring. He blinks sluggishly before his eyes suddenly snap open in panic. One of the guards is fast enough, rushing forwards and slamming into Richie just as he transports.

The scene warps at the same time.

They both land in the next room, and Richie tries to lash out but the guard wraps a hand around his throat, slamming him into the ground. Past Richie cries out, jumping into the shadows again. The scene warps, again, and again, until Richie lands in another room, gasping for air.

“I can do this all day-” One of the guards grit out, squeezing harder. Richie claws at his hands, gasping, spluttering, he tries to pull at the shadows again but they wouldn’t listen. He kicks as hard as he can, but it’s not enough, the man is too strong to be bothered by such a weak kick in comparison.

The guard growls, lifting Richie up by his neck and slamming him into the ground.

“Was that still worth the sacrifice?” Maturin asks at the silence, Richie glares at him, tears burning in his eyes.

“Yes it was, and you know that already, you know everything I ever saw, thought and felt. So just cut the crap-” Richie grinds out, and Maturin looks at him. Richie sighs, rubbing at his eyes. “I can’t look at more stuff, whatever you want to show me, it doesn’t justify what I did, so just get it over with.”

A small smile appears on Maturin’s face, and they fully turn towards Richie, the memory disappearing completely and leaving them in total black again.

“You saw what would come of disobedience. You are right to say it does not justify what you did, nor does it excuse it, but it does explain the reason _why_. You will live with what you did forever, a debt perhaps unable to fulfil, but that is not what I’m concerned about. Your debt is irrelevant, it’s _this_ that matters to me.” Maturin speaks up, reaching forwards and touching Richie’s chest.

A glowing light appears between them, and Maturin takes their arm, or whatever it was, back. Richie watches in awe as his heart glows with light, and Maturin smiles.

“There is good in there, accept it, use it to lighten the burden of your past, and allow yourself to live like _you_.” Maturin speaks, before slowly vanishing. Richie blinks, staring at the spot where Maturin was just seconds ago. Something clicks open behind him, and all too quickly two doors open, light filling the room.

Richie doesn’t react for a moment, staring at the room in front of him that suddenly seems so small and insignificant.

“Richie!” Bev’s cheerful laugh sounds, and Richie slowly turns around. Bev wraps his arms around him, laughing. “I told you! I told you they would see the good in you.” Bev smiles and Richie chuckles.

“You sure did-” Richie mutters, and Bev pulls out of the hug, squeezing his shoulder. “How do you know they accepted me?” Richie suddenly frowns, and both Eddie and Osprey walk up to him, including the three elders.

“The lights were white when the door opened, that means you were accepted.” Osprey says, reaching up to his face and taking off his mask. Richie blinks for a moment, before grinning. “Stanley Uris.” Stan introduces himself..

“Stan the man,” He grins, before turning to the three elders, who also removed their masks.

“Dick Hallorann, it is a pleasure to formally introduce myself,” Manifesto says, revealing the face of a kind looking man.

“Oh shit we could’ve had the same name if my parents had the balls-” Richie blurts out, grinning sheepishly.

“I’m surprised you didn’t change your own name to Dick, dick.” Eddie snorts, and Richie stuck out his tongue.

“Children.” Dick chuckles, shaking his head. “I hope that attitude remains once you start your training. I have _not_ forgotten about our fight.” Dick says, but a smile tugs at his lips.

“I’m Donald Uris, Stan’s father,” The other man introduces himself, also lifting his mask and extending a hand. Richie glances at Stan.

“I’m already meeting parents?” He chuckles, and Stan shoots him a glare. “It’s nice to formally meet you Mr. Uris. And I’m sorry for all the pain I’ve caused you and your family.”

“I trust Mr. Hallorann to make sure your training is properly adjusted.” Donald shoots back, and Richie chuckles nervously.

“It’s just to keep you on your toes,” The woman smiles, also taking off her mask.

“Well it’s working.” Richie jokes sourly, and the woman smiles kindly.

“Arlene Hanscom, I’m Ben’s mother-” She introduces himself, to which Richie frowns.

“My boyfriend,” Bev clarifies from the side, and understanding dawns down on Richie’s face.

“You’re cheating on Brawn?” Richie gasps playfully, grinning despite the remark. Bev scowls, hitting his shoulder again. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding! It’s nice to meet you Mrs. Hanscom. And I’m sorry for what Nox and I did to your son.” Richie apologises softly, but Arlene waves him off.

Stan walks up to Richie, putting a hand on his shoulder and holding out a strange looking key. Richie turns to Stan, frowning.

“Take one guess-” Eddie grins besides him, and it takes a second for Richie to understand, hand flying to his collar.

“Fucking finally-” Richie tries to joke, but his voice cracks halfway, which was enough for them to understand. Bev joins them, gently turning to Richie’s side and taking the key from Eddie. Richie waits anxiously, fidgeting on the spot and almost too quickly, the collar opens with a soft _click_.

Richie makes a low sound in his throat, easing the collar off his neck. He shudders, and Eddie can see smoke appearing for a moment, surrounding him like a blanket before he pulls it back into his body again.

“Welcome to the Losers club, asshole.” Eddie grins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaw I couldn't make Richie a murderer... not technically. He did some bad shit for sure, and he's going to have to live with that forever, but he never killed someone himself. He does feel guilty about that man he ordered to kill, but that man would've been killed with or without Richie saying that. 
> 
> Hope you guys liked the chapter, Richie is finally a part of Imperium! But since his mom is still out there... *hides*
> 
> Let me know what you think!


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was too focused on whumptober last week to update, but I made sure to update this week haha.

“Micycle, Stan the Man, Eddie Spaghetti, Ms. Marsh, Benny-boy, big Bill, good morning,” Richie grins as he walks into the living room. Stan deadpans at him.

“Anyone else regret telling our names?” He calls out in a sharp tone, raising his hand. The rest of the Losers, except Ben, all raise their hand and Richie gapes at them.

“Betrayal! Utter betrayal!” Richie cries out, taking the chair on the side, next to Eddie. “You know you love my nicknames, makes you feel special.” Richie winks at Stan, who just rolls his eyes.

“I very much do not-” He retorts, reaching for another piece of bread on the table. Richie takes the hint, for once, and reaches out as well, grabbing something for breakfast. It had been a day since his _judgement_ as he had dubbed it. Since then all the other Losers had come back and revealed their identities as well.

And of course Richie had immediately nicknamed all of them.

“Are you ready for training, Richie?” Mike instead asks, breaking a bit of the tension. Richie nods, in the process of putting some butter on his bread.

“Of course Mikey, prepared to whoop your butts,” Richie shoots back. “I mean how bad can it be?” He adds, and Mike shrugs.

“I was sore for days after my first training.” He says.

“I thought you said you worked on your granddad’s farm?” Richie asks, pausing for a moment to look up at Mike.

“I still do whenever I can, but it’s a lot different, you train a lot of different muscles-” Mike explains, and Richie waggles his eyebrows at that. But Mike just smiles, ignoring the action. He was about to continue when Richie suddenly stills.

“Wait shit, what the fuck do I even wear to training?” He curses, glancing at all the Losers.

“I’m sure you could borrow something from Bev.” Eddie snickers, which earned him a slap from Bev.

“Absolutely not-” Bev retorts.

“Guys! I have nothing to wear-” Richie interrupts, glancing down at himself. He wasn’t even wearing his own pyjamas. “I need a new uniform, and shit, do I also need a new name? I can’t really go around using Pitch anymore right?”

“Richie!” Bill snaps, not out of anger, but to get Richie’s attention. “One t-thing at a time, okay? Y-You can b-borrow something from us for today, and we’ll ask if Imp-p-perium can give you your own clothes.” Bill speaks up, and Richie quiets down a little, nodding.

“As long as I’m not borrowing from Eds, I very much want it to cover my entire junk-”

“I will end you Tozier!” Eddie hisses, conjuring a lightning dagger and throwing it at Richie. Richie jumps immediately, appearing to the side as the dagger flies through the air before it struck the wall, cracking it slightly.

“Great, more damage-” Stan deadpans.

“It’s not my fault!” Eddie yells, and Richie gapes at him.

“How was that not your fault? You literally threw that thing Spaghetti-” Richie laughs.

“Yes I was aiming at _you_.” Eddie throws back.

“And that’s supposed to make it better? You still threw it-”

“It wouldn’t have touched you asshole!” Eddie scowls, and Richie just chuckles, sitting down again.

“You can borrow something from me, you’re not that much taller than I am.” Mike cuts in, glancing at him with a calm but kind expression. Richie flashes him a smile.

“Thanks Micycle.” He winks. ”I’ll be careful with it.”

“Don’t worry, we get enough clothes,” Mike waves off. “Besides, you’re still recovering, I doubt we’ll do much physical activity.” Mike says, and Richie waggles his eyebrows at Eddie, who scowls again.

Richie looks up and down, looking at Eddie’s body for injuries. The healer, Ben’s mother apparently, had tended to Eddie’s wounds already. It wasn’t a magic fix, but she was able to speed up the process massively. His dislocated shoulder was still sore but would take a few days, and his concussion would clear in a few days as well.

Stan’s broken wrist was half-way healed as well, but would need to be in a cast for a week more or so. Bev’s knee was completely healed already as well, and Arlene had tended to Richie’s bruised ribs and other injuries as well.

“So have you thought about new names?” Ben changes the subject, and Richie shrugs.

“No you are not naming yourself Twilight-” Eddie deadpans, and Richie gapes at him.

“But it would be so perfect! Why do you hate joy?” Richie pouts, knowing all too well that Eddie didn’t like that name.

“I g-gotta agree with Eddie here, sorry R-Rich.” Bill chuckles, and Richie huffs for good measure. “M-More ideas?” Bill asks instead.

“I don’t know Bill, I don’t feel comfortable knowing I’m going to get judged by a certain someone-” Richie shoots at Eddie, not even bothering to hide the shit eating grin on his face. “But no, I haven’t really thought about it.”

“How about Shade, or Shadow?” Ben asks, and Richie frowns slightly at that, letting the names ring in his head.

“No time for that, it’s time for training.” Stan interrupts, glancing at his watch. Richie glances at the rest for a quick second, flashing Ben an almost apologetic smile as they all get up to get changed. Richie quickly transports next to Ben, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“They are good Benny, I’ll think about it-” He says, winking before transporting after Eddie with a gleeful chuckle.

*

*

*

Dick Hallorann is already in the room as they walk in, glancing at Richie. The curly haired boy was wearing clothes he borrowed from Mike. They didn’t fit exactly, but it is enough for this time.

“So you made it, Richard-” Dick muses, and Richie grins.

“Wouldn’t miss it, sir.” He says, and Dick nods, an amused smile on his face.

“Do you think you guys can handle sparring today?” He asks instead of responding, glancing primarily at Eddie and Stan.

“I’m still in a cast, so I can’t today.” Stan says, and Eddie also shakes his head. Dick hums at that, nodding again.

“I can think of something, but first I want to see what you can do Richard, if you’re up for it.” Dick says, glancing back at Richie.

“I’m a little sore in the ribs, but I can fight, I’ve had worse.” Richie says, and Dick frowns at that, not pleased with the implication.

“I’m sure you have-” He mutters, shaking his head and gesturing for Richie to come into the middle of the room. “Anyone keen to spar against him?” He asks, and all too quickly, Bev steps forwards.

“Really Ms. Marsh?” Richie grins, and Bev matches the grin.

“Payback-” She just says, cracking her fingers and glancing at Dick. The older man gives the sign, and Richie immediately blends into the shadows, coming up behind Bev. But the girl anticipates it, striking low and catching his legs. Richie goes down, rolling backwards and disappearing into the smoke again.

Richie quickly appears again, and Bev wastes no time. She charges at him, blocking the first attack and grabbing his wrist. Richie pulls her back into the shadows, appearing high up in the air. Bev lets out a yell, but she doesn’t let go, grabbing Richie’s wrist tighter and leaving Richie no choice.

The curly haired boy jumps again before they reach the ground. Richie strikes forwards with his free arm, hitting Bev in the stomach but she holds on. Richie growls low in his throat, it was clear that Bev understands that he couldn’t transport without her letting go.

Richie quickly turns, bending Bev’s arm and striking and kicking out. Bev instinctively jumps back, and Richie quickly disappears into the shadows. He appears to her side, but Bev quickly dugs, rolling right in front of him and slamming her shoulder into his gut. She wraps her arms around his stomach as he wheezes.

Pain flares up in his ribs, and he grits his teeth.

Bev climbs upwards, like a koala clinging to a tree, and she pulls at his shoulders. He yells, crashing to the ground. He disappears into the shadows again but Bev quickly twists in the darkness, slamming him on the ground, face up.

“I w-” Bev starts, but Richie disappears into the shadows again, striking out and hitting Bev in the face. She cries out in surprise, and she lets go. Richie pulls himself into the shadows, appearing above her. He falls down, allowing gravity to overcome him and crashing on top of Bev.

He pulls her down quickly, slamming her onto the ground and jumping up, ready to-

“Richie!” He hears loudly, before someone slams into him, forcing him back. He lands on the ground, a body landing on top of him. “What the fuck were you thinking?” Eddie yells at his face, grabbing his wrists and slamming it on either side of his head. Richie’s eyes widen, frowning.

“What did I do?” Richie asks softly, trying to look at Bev.

“Bev won, and you continued attacking you idiot-” Eddie hisses, but that only confuses Richie more.

“How did she win? She didn’t defeat me, I didn’t-” Richie starts, still looking at Bev but Mike moves between the two.

“She did when she had you on your back.” He explains softly, glancing down. Richie stills, before turning to Eddie.

“Let me go Eds,” Richie mutters, pushing at Eddie’s arms. The boy lets up, still watching him warily. “What do you mean ‘on my back’?” Richie asks, glancing at Mike with a determined expression.

“Th-those are the r-rules-” Bill starts.

“It’s okay Bill,” Bev cuts in, climbing to her feet and wiping the blood from her nose. “You didn’t know about the rule did you?” She asks, and Richie frowns.

“I wasn’t down, I could still fight-” He tries, and Bev slowly walks towards him.

“Richie when was a fight over when you were training with Nox?” She asks softly, and Richie’s brow furrows.

“When you couldn’t get up anymore…-” He says, eyes widening just slightly at the shocked expressions he was met with. “You guys… don’t?” Richie whispers, shame seeping into his voice.

“Oh honey, no-” Bev says, taking a tissue from Bill’s hands, which he must’ve gotten when he tried to tend to Bev, and walks up to him. She carefully wipes at the blood on his cheek, a guilty look on her face.

“I don’t get what I did wrong, I could still fight, so I did…” Richie tries, wincing as Bev wipes at the blood. Imagines are flashing through his mind, slamming someone’s head in the wall to render them unconscious, his dad hitting him so hard he physically couldn’t stand up anymore, passing out with two hands around his throat…

“You just get someone on their back, that’s how we determine a winner.” Mike explains softly, and Richie instantly deflates as he suddenly understands.

“Shit Bev I’m so sorry.” Richie gasps, pushing a hand through his curls and eyes going wide.

“It’s not your fault.” Bev shakes her head.

“Who the fuck slammed you on the ground then? Santa Claus?” Richie hisses, and Bev snorts despite the situation. “That’s not funny Bev, I could’ve really hurt you.”

“But you didn’t.” Bev retorts.

“And w-we should’ve explained our r-rules.” Bill says, and Richie releases a shuddering breath.

“This was a bad idea, this was.. I should go-” Richie whispers, taking a hesitant step back before pulling himself into the shadows. He appears in his own room, scowling. Was it even his room? He shakes his head, walking over to his closet before freezing. All these clothes didn’t belong to him.

They were either Eddie’s, or simply borrowed from Imperium. Richie looks down, even the clothes he was currently wearing weren't his. Richie growls, pulling the clothes out of the closet and letting them fall to the ground. There had to be...

He pulls out a bag, mentally apologising. His toothbrush wasn’t worth shit to the Losers anymore, so he put that in, and Ben had left a sketchbook on his bed last night. He shoved it in his bag as well, glancing at the closet. He couldn’t just take it, right? He did anyways, shoving one outfit in the bag.

His eyes land on his old uniform. The bag drops to the ground, and he feels tears sting in his eyes. He reaches for his uniform, scowling down at it. It was almost like it burned in his hands, taunting him. He hurt people in this uniform, he stood by as innocents were killed, he hurt the Losers…

He has no idea why they had given it back to him, a souvenir maybe, but he didn’t want it.

“Aargh!” Richie screams, turning around and throwing the uniform at the wall. He stands there numbly as the uniform hits the wall, an unsatisfying whoosh of air before it falls to the ground. Richie sobs, hand flying to his mouth as a way to stop it. His hands.. stained with blood, blood of everyone he hurt.

Richie feels his knees buckle, going weak and he stumbles backwards, his back hitting the wall.

He just lets himself fall to the ground, tears streaming down his face.

“Richie?” A soft voice speaks up, but Richie doesn’t react, pulling his knees to his chest and burying his face. There is a soft noise, before Richie feels something against his side, a gentle weight. The voice doesn’t say anything, just being there against his side as he continues to cry.

“Were you leaving?” The voice asks after a long silence, and Richie sniffs, wiping at his tears.

“I hurt Bev, I hurt _you_ -” Richie whispers, staring at Eddie’s brown eyes. Eddie shakes his head.

“Nobody blames you Richie, we should’ve explained the rules to you,” Eddie denies, no hesitation in his voice.

“How can you trust me after what I did? What if I do it again?”

“Then we will stop you, you’re surrounded by powers Richie, we can protect ourselves-”

“But I don’t want you to-”

“Richie,” Eddie interrupts him, grabbing his hands. “The only reason this happened was because we didn’t bother to explain the rules, you didn’t _want_ to hurt Bev and you didn’t intent to hurt her.”

“But-”

“No buts Richie. Today wasn’t your fault, and it’s not going to happen again.” Eddie says firmly. Richie sniffles, looking down at Eddie still holding his hands.

“How can you be so sure?” Richie whispers, and Eddie puts a hand on Richie’s cheek, tilting his head. Richie’s breath hitches, gaze flickering down to Eddie’s lips. He doesn’t dare to breathe out as Eddie leans forwards, lips brushing against his. A tear trails down Richie’s face, but he closes his eyes.

He leans in, letting Eddie deepen the kiss.

It only lasts a few seconds, before Richie breathes out, pulling back. “This is such a fucking cliche-” He whispers, blinking up at Eddie. The shorter boy snorts, frowning at him.

“Don’t ruin the moment asshole-” Eddie hisses, and Richie can’t help but bark out a laugh at that, wiping at the tears that still lingered. “Are you still going to run away?” Eddie asks suddenly, and Richie winces at that.

“I don’t know, Eds.” Richie whispers, sighing. “Everything I knew is just gone y’know? I thought everything was going to be alright after Maturin but that was fucking naive of me, my mom’s still out there, and I just hurt- yeah yeah I know.” Richie adds quickly before Eddie could comment.

Still, Eddie frowns. It was like Richie didn’t _want_ to accept that it wasn’t his fault.

“Have you gone to see your dad?” Eddie asks instead, looking at Richie.

“Have you visited your mom?” He retorts softly, not to hurt Eddie, but the boy still sighs, pulling his legs to his chest.

“I guess not-” He mumbles, leaning his head onto Richie’s shoulder. “Do you want to?”

“I don’t know, maybe, I’m just scared I guess.”

“I could go with you if you want? If you really want to see him.” Eddie offers, not looking at Richie but instead staring at the old uniform on the ground. Richie swallow thickly.

“Thanks Edsie-” He whispers, putting his head on top of Eddie’s. “And if you want me to go with you, just tell me. I’ll have to tell her I cheated anyways-”

Eddie scowls at that. “That’s fucking disgusting Rich-” Eddie hisses, but Richie just chuckles. There was a short silence between the two, until Richie glances down at Eddie.

“What are you thinking about?” He asks, raising one of his hands and putting a finger on Eddie’s forehead, pushing against the wrinkles that were forming because of Eddie’s frown. Eddie slaps the hand away.

“What are they going to do with our parents? Imperium has no authority to jail people without a trial, but what if they tell our identities? My mom knows who I am, and your dad obviously knows you.” Eddie speaks up, and Richie nods softly.

“Yeah I thought about that too-” He starts, looking down. “I guess I’m more worried about what my mom might do, she wouldn’t do something now but I wouldn’t be surprised if she uses my identity to draw me out or something, we can just make our parents forget about our identities but-”

“We can do what now?” Edie interrupts, sitting up straight and looking at Richie with a surprised expression on his face. Richie sighs, reaching out for Eddie’s hand and allowing smoke to come out. Eddie watches silently as his hand lit up, meeting with Richie’s powers.

“Our powers work differently when we work together, if we combine our powers we can see into the past, and just like you can take away hopes, we can also take away memories-” Eddie’s eyes widen at that.

“We can?” He asks, a surprised look on his face. “But can’t we just make them forget about everything? Forgive them because they-”

“Eddie stop,” Richie whispers, shaking his head. “Even if we could take something so big, our parents are both not good people, that’s not changing if we take away their memories. Besides, messing with someone’s memories too much is a bad idea.” Richie says, and Eddie’s face falls instantly.

He looks down, biting his lip as if he was thinking about what Richie had just said. “So I’m not getting my mom back?” He whispers, and Richie can see tears well up in Eddie’s eyes. Richie shakes his head silently, reaching out and tipping Eddie’s face up, much like Eddie had just moments ago.

“We can make my dad, and everyone who’s left in Nox, forget that I exist because he would still be more or less the same without me y’know? But I can’t take back 20 years of his life, even if I could somehow make him good. It would only mess with his mind more.” Richie explains, swallowing thickly.

He _knows_ all of this already, his parents and experts working at Nox had already explained it to him, how their powers would work, why it was so important for him to kill Eddie.

He would get his powers, and their combined powers. He would be able to see fears, hopes and their pasts, mess with it if he wanted to, but never too much. Because unlike someone's hopes or fears, their past was directly connected to reality.

“And what about my mom?” Eddie asks.

“We can make her forget that you’re Luminance, but not about you. Her entire existence is about taking care of you, protecting you. Taking that away would mess too much with reality, we can’t take the risk.” Richie explains, watching Eddie with sad eyes, heart squeezing almost painfully.

Eddie breathes in quickly, breath hitching ever so slightly before he reaches up with his hands, wiping at the lingering tears.

“I should hate her for what she did-” Eddie whispers, shaking his head. “But I can’t stop loving her, and I hate it. I hate the thought of her being locked up for what she did, and me not being able to take away her memory of me. She has to live with that in prison, and I know she deserves it but I just…-” Eddie stops himself.

He doesn’t even know how to explain it, so he shrugs, hoping Richie will understand.

“She’s your mom, dude, I get it. I know my dad deserves to rot in jail, but some part of me doesn’t want to see that.” Richie explains softly, fidgeting with his fingers. “I won’t judge you for your mommy issues.” Richie adds teasingly, nudging Eddie gently. 

“Hey you’re the one to talk, you have both mommy and daddy issues-” Eddie shoots back, and Richie chuckles.

“We both have issues.” Richie shrugs.

“Don’t flaunt it like some kind of achievement-” Eddie rolls his eyes, but Richie just laughs again.

“That’s how I cope Lu Lu, let me.” He retorts, and Eddie sighs, shaking his head.

“Don’t go running off again, okay?” He whispers after a moment.

“I mean technically I didn’t run, I transpo- OW!” Richie yelps, hand flying to his arm. “Hey unfair, I have a mental crisis over here, rude.” Richie huffs.

“You know what I meant,” Eddie frowns. “Just promise me you won’t do that again, okay?”

Richie grins brightly. “Aaaww you care, I knew you cared!”

“I just kissed you didn’t I?”

“Swapped some spit, yes.” Richie winks, and Eddie scowls.

“I take it back, you can run away for all I care.” Eddie stands up, or at least, that was the idea. Richie laughs, reaching out quickly and snatching Eddie’s hand to pull him back. Eddie yelps loudly, landing on Richie’s lap. Eddie grumbles, turning to Richie.

“I hate you.” Eddie mumbles, and Richie chuckles.

“Then stop me-” Richie says, leaning forwards again. He hesitates for a moment, allowing Eddie a chance to change his mind but Eddie quickly closes the gap between them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think!


	13. Chapter 13

“Are you sure about this?” Eddie asks warily, and Richie turns to look at Eddie.

“No,” He says, taking a deep breath. “But I have to, if he knows something that could help, I have to take the chance.” He says, watching as Eddie walks up to him, slipping his hand in his. They both had their costume on, which Richie was _not_ happy about, but they were still working on his new persona.

Still needed a name, a new costume, a new identity. Pitch doesn’t exist anymore, but for now he had to pretend.

“I’ll go with you,” Eddie says, and Richie frowns, opening his mouth. “That’s not up for debate Richie, I won’t let you go see him alone, you can’t even go alone.” He adds all too quickly, and Richie snaps his mouth shut. He stares at Eddie’s face for a moment, wonder all too evident, but eventually he sighs.

Eddie’s stubbornness was all too familiar for him, and he knows there is no convincing Eddie at this moment. He would follow him whether he wanted him to or not.

“Let’s just go-” Richie mutters, walking through the hallway until they got to the last room, two guards standing in front of it. He could see them both looking at him warily, until slowly looking at Eddie instead. Richie keeps himself from wincing at the looks, knowing that they still very clearly didn’t trust him.

“We’re here to see the prisoner,” Eddie says, now with his mask already on, and the guards glance at each other before nodding.

“We will stay with you, make sure you are not hurt-” One of the guards says, but Richie can immediately see how they both glance at him.

“You can just say you don’t trust me yet.” Richie bites back, and Eddie doesn’t say anything. He noticed the look as well, how they keep glancing at Richie. The guard shrugs.

“Fine, we don’t trust you. You may have been approved by Maturin but you’re still Nox scum, just like your father. And I’m not giving you the opportunity to free him.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t let him.” Eddie hisses, sarcasm obvious in his voice as he snatches the key from the guards. “Now stay out of our way.” He adds, opening the door and pulling Richie inside. Eddie slams the door shut, but before he could say anything, a chuckle sounds through the room.

Richie whips his head towards the sound, seeing his father looking at him, chuckling.

“They don’t trust you, they never will-” He laughs. Richie frowns, looking at his dad. He wore a collar around his throat just like he had when he got captured by Imperium. He didn’t have the white clothes he wore, but that made sense considering his power was stronger in the darkness.

Instead of the white clothes, he had a straight jacket tightly fastened around his body, extra straps to make sure there was no escaping. Richie swallow thickly at the sight, knowing he had been in those things before, taught how to escape, and Imperium obviously anticipated that ability.

“At least I’m not wearing a straightjacket,” Richie retorts weakly, feeling his heart hammer in his throat.

“I know Nox will come for me, your mother is still out there and they will find me,” His dad taunts. “But no one will come for you Richard, Nox will kill you if they get the chance and Imperium will not care-”

“You’re wrong about that asshole, we care, all of the Losers care.” Eddie frowns, but it only makes his dad chuckle again.

“Hear that son? You have the _losers_ on your side,” His dad laughs, shaking his head. “But how far will they go for you? We both know that when it comes down to it, they won’t save you first.” Richie can feel tears burn in his eyes, but he bites them away, back straightening up against his will.

And still he feels so small, despite being with Eddie, despite his dad being locked up and in restraints.

“We won’t let anything happen to Richie, we care about him, unlike you.” Eddie defends him, and Richie has to blink to snap himself out of it.

“And would you save Richie over that red headed bitch?” His dad challenges, and Eddie winces slightly, mouth opening for a moment but nothing came out. Richie isn’t even surprised, understood _why_. He knew Bev longer, better, Bev recruited him into Imperium after he ran away.

“That’s what I thought-” His dad chuckles, standing up with surprising easy, ankles still shackled together. “You made a big mistake abandoning Nox, but we always knew you were a mistake. It should’ve been you who died, and not your sister-”

“Then maybe you should’ve done a better job protecting her.” Eddie bites back, and his dad chuckles again, shaking his head. Then all too suddenly his dad throws himself forwards, colliding with the bar with a shout. Richie yells, jumping back and shadows enveloping him all too quickly.

His dad laughs, a laugh all too familiar to his own, admiring the reaction.

“You’re still scared, you never had the guts to _take_.” Richie forces the shadows back into his body.

“Maybe I never _wanted_ to-” Richie throws back, finding his voice again. He steps forwards, eyes narrowing. Eddie glances at him with worried eyes, no doubt reading the signs of the clear fear he was feeling, anxiety, disappointment.

“That’s why you’re weak, you don’t belong to Nox, and you will never belong to Imperium either.” His dad spews, and Eddie takes a step forwards, mouth opening but Richie holds out an arm, shaking his head. Richie takes a deep breath, frowning still.

“Where’s mom?” He asks, completely ignoring his dad’s taunting. Wentworth falters a tiny bit, just a second of confusion before he straightens up as well.

“Wouldn’t you like to know that?” He chuckles, and Richie takes another shuddering breath, walking over to the bars within arm’s length.

“Tell me where she is, or I’ll find it myself.” Richie hisses in demand, and his dad narrows his eyes, walking closer to the bars as well. And somehow, it was like Richie was the one trapped, and not the other way around. Still, he keeps his ground, staying in his place. His dad looks at him.

Gauging his reaction, whether he could somehow get inside Richie’s head.

“And how will you do that boy?” He asks, taunting again. Richie takes one step forwards, looking his dad dead in the eyes.

“You taught me that I can see into someone’s past if I work together with Luminance. If you know where mom is hiding, your mind will tell me.” Richie says, and his dad’s face darkens. For a moment he doesn’t say anything before suddenly spitting in Richie’s face. Richie winces, and Eddie charges forwards.

He conjures a dagger all too quickly, pointing it at his dad’s throat.

“Take your shot.” His dad dares Eddie, glee in his eyes. Richie wipes at his face, biting hard on his lip until he tastes blood. “Try and take it from me.” He continues, glancing at Richie. The curly haired boy narrows his eyes, glancing at his dad before shaking his head, he reaches forwards all too quickly.

And suddenly his eyes light up, just like Wentworth’s. Eddie gasps, whipping his head towards Richie’s face. It was pinched with exertion, as if it was difficult to keep the connection. And then the connection was broken, Richie hissing in pain as he takes his hand back.

He glares at his dad, before turning to Eddie. “He doesn’t know-” He mutters, and Eddie slowly lets the dagger disappear. His dad grins, a weird sense of victory. “And he’s terrified of mom not coming for him.” He adds, but his dad doesn’t let up, pretending to have won.

“Let’s just get it over with then.” Eddie whispers, and Richie sighs, nodding.

“I wish I could say I enjoyed being your son, but that would be a big fucking lie.” Richie whispers, trying to sound angry but instead it was just filled with hurt. His dad narrows his eyes.

“What are you talking about boy?” He hisses, but Richie doesn’t react, transporting to the other side of the cell. His dad yells in surprise, slamming his back against the bars. “You’re here to kill me aren’t you? But can you live with that, knowing you’ll be charged with _murder_?” His dad tries.

But Richie can clearly hear the fear in his voice. Richie shakes his head, walking forwards and allowing smoke to linger around his body, pressing his dad firmly against the bars with no way out, not without his powers.

“I won’t kill you, you’re going to have to live with your crimes,” He says, reaching up.

“I will tell, I will tell everyone who you are, you won’t be able to have a normal life.” His dad spits, and Richie sighs, pulling the mask in front of his face to hide his identity.

“You won’t, because you’re going to forget who I am, that I ever existed-” Richie says, reaching out to Eddie through the bars.

“NO-” His dad cries out in sudden realisation but it’s too late, and he’s pulled into his dad’s mind.

“Did it work?” Eddie gasps, looking around them. They were in a building, a building all too familiar for Richie. The curly haired boy swallows thickly, turning to a corridor.

“This way.” He whispers, already walking before Eddie can process. But the smaller boy quickly catches up, walking alongside him. Richie doesn’t react as he feels Eddie’s hand slip into his, but he can’t shake the comfort it gave him, a sense of safety.

All too quickly, they reach the great hall, but unlike most times, there were just three others. His mom, his dad and himself. He could recognise himself instantly, even as an infant, squinting slightly.

“This was before someone at Nox got my eyes fixed,” Richie whispers softly, walking up to his younger self and crouching down.

“You had your eyes fixed?” Eddie frowns, and Richie nods.

“I was squinting all the fucking time, and my head was always killing me. They figured I couldn’t exactly be a supervillain with fucked up vision, so they had some chick with magic powers fix my eyes,” Richie says. “I don’t remember much, but it wasn’t a nice experience.” He shudders slightly.

Eddie crouches down next to him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“Do you need a moment?” Eddie asks, but Richie shakes his head.

“No, I just want to get it over with.” Richie whispers, standing up and reaching for his younger self, lifting him up. His parents didn’t even react, oblivious to what was about to happen. But even so, it was just a memory.

“Are you sure about this? We’ll destroy this memory forever, your dad will never remember you.” Eddie asks, glancing at the toddler in Richie’s arms. Richie gnaws at his lip for a moment, before nodding.

“He was never my father to begin with,” Richie whispers. “And I can’t risk him using my identity against me, I just want a normal life.” Richie adds, and Eddie nods, slowly walking over to him.

“Okay, if you’re sure-” Eddie says, slowly allowing his body to light up. The toddler stares at him with wonder, gargling and reaching out with his tiny hands. Richie bites back his emotions, allowing shadows to envelop them. Eddie glances at Richie again, but Richie nods, they had to do this.

Eddie reaches forwards, putting a hand on the toddler’s back and all too quickly, the toddler, _Richie_ , vanishes from their arms. The shadows return to Richie’s body, and Eddie’s body returns to normal again.

“Did we do it?” Eddie whispers, but Richie just looks around. Slowly, all the stuff that was meant for him vanishes, everything that was _his_ , and his parents blink a couple of times, disorientated. But it only lasts a few seconds before it was like he never existed. Richie sighs, nodding.

“Let’s go-” He adds, reaching out to Eddie. The shorter boy nods, taking Richie’s hand and allowing himself to be swallowed by the light. Richie blinks heavily as he stares at the face of his dad, slowly stepping back and allowing the shadows to retract.

“What did you do, what have you done to me?” His dad gasps, knees buckling. He was groaning in pain, and Richie sighs, transporting over to the other side of the cell, back to Eddie.

“Don’t worry, this is the last time you’ll ever see me.” Richie says back, voice devoid of all emotions. His father hisses, glaring at him.

“I don’t even know who you are.” He retorts, and Eddie can feel his heart leap at the realisation that it has worked. He didn’t know who Richie was.

Richie chuckles humorously, a sound Eddie never wanted to hear. “Yeah well neither do I-” He breathes out, turning around and leaving the room, and without sparing Wentworth another glance, Eddie hurries after him.

*

*

*

“Did you do it?” Stan asks softly as Richie and Eddie make their way upstairs. Richie sighs, falling back onto the couch and nodding.

“He doesn’t remember me.” Richie shrugs, and Stan slowly walks up to Richie, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“I’m sorry Richie-” He whispers but Richie shakes his head.

“For what?” Richie bites back, before slumping again. “Sorry, I’m just… I don’t know.” He mutters and Stan nods, sitting down next to him.

“I get it, you had to make a difficult choice, both of you-” Stan glances up at Eddie for a moment, but he shakes his head softly. They haven’t gone to Sonia yet, Richie too distraught for now. And Eddie _needed_ Richie with him when he went to see his mother, couldn’t face her alone, didn’t want to face her alone.

Especially considering he was going to probe in her mind. Stan nods slightly, understanding what Eddie means.

“But he’s still alive, he’s not gone-” Richie tries, but Stan shakes his head.

“He may as well be Richie, he doesn’t remember you. You’re allowed to grieve.” Stan reaffirms, not allowing any debate.

“I should hate him, I do hate him so why do I still feel this way?” Richie asks. There weren’t even any tears in his eyes, too exhausted to cry, too overrun by emotions and yet so numb all the same. Stan sighs.

“Nobody is judging you for this, Richie. It’s completely normal.”

“I don’t want my mom to spend the rest of her life in prison either, even though she did horrible things to me,” Eddie whispers, sitting down on the other side of Richie.

“My mom took me to the ER once when I was like 4 years old, I don’t remember much but she demanded they run more tests, so they did,” Eddie whispers softly, and Richie glances at him. “She forced them to do a gastroscopy, but she told the doctors I was allergic to all the medications they could give me to relax, and-”

Eddie stops, swallowing thickly, and Richie smiles softly. “It’s okay Eds, you don’t have to continue, I get it.” He says, but Eddie shakes his head.

“I should hate her, but I’m still hoping for some miracle that she will change even though I know it won’t come,” Eddie continues. “I get what you’re feeling, it’s normal.”

“Eddie’s right, I still had hope my dad would change.” Bev whispers behind him, and Richie slowly looks up to see the rest of the Losers also surrounding him. Bev hops over the couch, hugging him from the front. He can feel the rest of them crowding him, hands on his shoulders, on his back.

Richie stiffens slightly before melting into the embraces.

“You can cry if you want-” Bev whispers and Richie snorts out a laugh.

“Please, my ego is already bruised enough.” Richie croaks, causing some of the Losers to snort as well.

“Y-You’ll live.” Bill chuckles.

“How about we watch a movie together?” Ben asks all of a sudden, and Richie pulls his face out of the hug, grinning.

“Yes movie night!” He cheers, glancing outside. “Or movie afternoon, not as catchy though-” He continues, and Bev rolls her eyes, ruffling his curly hair. Richie laughs weakly as Bev untangles her limbs from the pile of bodies, walking over to the television.

“There’s no rush Eddie, you guys have time to get to your mother.” Mike says softly, glancing at Eddie.

“I know, I just want this to be over, but I don’t have the energy for that right now. You know how she is.” Eddie says, and Richie snorts at that. Mike smiles softly, nodding.

“You can do it tomorrow, the trial isn’t for another 3 weeks,” Mike informs him, even though they already knew that. “And if you want, I can come with you.” He offers and Eddie smiles.

“Thanks Mike.” Eddie says back, before they’re interrupted by Bev coming back to the couch, asking what movie they should watch.

*

*

*

“Pitch, Luminance, there are three incoming to your left.” Mike’s voice comes through the earpiece. Richie grumbles.

“We really need to hurry the fuck up with my new name-” Richie mutters, flexing his arms a bit as they were cramping. Eddie sighs next to him.

“Focus on the mission first, idiot, saving the hostages is a bit more important.” Eddie shoots back in a low hiss, and Richie chuckles, nodding as he waves him off. They wait for a few more seconds before, as Mike already said, three guards walked around the corner.

“Ola señor-” Richie chuckles, transporting behind the three guards with Eddie and striking out. Immediately Eddie jumps at one of them, pulling him down and striking the second one while going down. The second guard cries out in pain, and Richie quickly transports again, grabbing the skull and slamming it into the wall.

Eddie winces, holding onto the first guard before he too slumps to the ground unconscious.

“You don’t even speak Spanish.” Eddie says, climbing to his feet and grabbing the restraints from his belt.

“What fucking language was that then?” Richie retorts with a grin, dragging the two guards towards the third. Eddie sighs, shaking his head as he ties the three of them to each other. Richie watches silently as Eddie proceeds to tie up the guards, glancing around.

They were in a big building, which usually posed as a workplace for thousands of employees. The company was rich, which was also exactly why the building was targeted, for ransom. The rest of the Losers were spread through the rest of the building, taking out everyone working for the enemy without giving away that they were there.

Richie’s ear piece crackles slightly, the only warning before Mike’s voice was heard again. “There are two children on your floor, they took them from their parents.” He says, and Richie glances at Eddie, who nods. They both understood what it meant.

“On it, Spirit-” Eddie says, and Richie walks over to him.

“What is this, take your child to work day?” Richie chuckles, grinning brighter at Eddie’s annoyed reaction. “You think they know?” He asks instead, raising an eyebrow beneath the mask. Eddie glances at him for a moment. Richie was wearing his new costume, even if he didn’t have a new name yet. His cloak was thinner, and considerably shorter.

Instead of reaching all the way to the ground, it was just below his shoulder blades. The cloak was resting on top of his head, not made to cover his face anymore. And his curly hair was peeking out. Instead of the large black face mask that covered half his face, it now only covered his eyes. There were purple tints throughout his costume, still enabling him to blend into the shadows but less threatening in the light.

And the cheeky grin now not hidden by shadows anymore.

“Let’s find out-” Eddie says, putting a hand on one of the guards and extending the other for Richie to grab. It only took them a few seconds to get the information they needed, in and out before other guards even had the chance to come look for their colleagues.

Richie gasps slightly as he pulls out of the mind of the guard, looking at Eddie.

“C’mon-” Eddie says, already on his feet to make his way over to the room, in the hallway where the guards had just come from. Richie reaches out for Eddie, pulling them both into the shadows to transport them to the end of the hallway. Eddie doesn’t even flinch, doesn’t startle.

He just continues forwards, rounding the corner before Richie pulls him into the shadows again, and they end up in front of a door.

Eddie conjures a dagger, striking through the lock holding the door closed and kicking it in. Richie whistles low at the display, but Eddie ignores him, charging into the room. Both of them look around the room, spotting two girls crying in the corner with another man sitting behind the desk, a gun on the table.

Richie narrows his eyes, wanting nothing more than to hit the man, but he knew that the most logical step was going to the kids, so he did. He pulls back into the shadows, appearing in front of the kids and watching with awe as Eddie runs at the now startled man, throwing two daggers.

The first hits the gun, sending it flying off the desk and the second one imbeds itself in the shoulder.

The man cries out, but Eddie doesn’t hesitate, running forwards and flying at the man, knocking them both, and the chair, back.

“Asshole-” Eddie hisses, pulling back and striking the man’s face, rendering him unconscious.

“There are kids here.” Richie grins, but Eddie rolls his eyes behind the mask, and Richie turns to the two kids instead.

“Lumy?” One of them sniffles, and Eddie tries to smile, walking over to the kids. Richie shoots him a grin at the nickname.

“You’re safe now, we’re here to protect you.” Eddie says, crouching slightly and smiling. One of the kids glance at Richie, frowning slightly.

“Are you good now?” She asks, and Richie swallows thickly, _knowing_ what she was talking about. What had he done to her in the past? He could’ve well killed her parents, or rather, stood by as Nox did. Richie sits down on his knees.

“I am, I’m working with Lumy here, I joined Imperium.” He says, ignoring the grumble from Eddie at the nickname. The girl stares at him for a moment before grinning, hugging him tightly.

“You’re a superhero!” She laughs, and Richie chuckles nervously. 

“I guess-” He mutters, and Eddie stares at him, _just accept it_. Richie waves him off, gently pulling out of the hug. “How about we make sure the rest of the bad guys are defeated, and then take you back to your parents?” Richie asks, and the other child, a boy, cheers up, grinning.

“Did you kick their butts?” He asks, and both Richie and Eddie laugh at that, shaking their heads.

“We sure did buddy,” Eddie smiles, tapping the earpiece in his ear. “Spirit, is it all clear on your end?” It took a few moments, before the sound of Mike’s voice came.

“They’re taking down the last guard, it took a while since they had hostages-”

“Luckily they’re stupid.” Bev snorts, and Richie chuckles at that.

“Good, we found the two kids, we’re taking them down now okay?” Eddie asks.

“Copy that.” Mike acknowledges, cutting off the sound. Richie sighs, turning back to the child.

“Are you ready to go find your parents?” He asks, and the boy nods eagerly.

“I want to be on your back!” The boy says, and Richie chuckles, nodding. He crouches down, allowing the boy to climb on, and hooking the arms under him. “Ready, go go!” The boy laughs, and Richie smiles as he looks at Eddie holding onto the hand of the girl, who was a little older than the boy.

The four of them slowly make their way over to the room where the rest of the workers were held hostage, knowing they would be keeping them there for a moment to make sure everyone is accounted for, and safe.

“And then that bad guy was being mean and he wanted to take me from my mommy-” The boy rattles in Richie’s ear as the walk into the room. But the ranting is cut short by a loud yell of fear. Immediately Eddie and Richie tense, eyes widening.

“Robbie!” A woman’s voice yells, and suddenly someone was rushing towards him. “Get away from him!” She screeches, and that’s when he realises what’s going on. She runs straight at him, trying to lash out, and Richie reacts on instinct. He feels shadows wrap around him, transporting away.

The woman yells in fear again.

“Help me! Someone stop him!” She tries, and the boy, Robbie, whimpers suddenly in his nick.

“Mommy?” He whispers in a high-pitched voice.

“Ma’am don’t worry, he’s not going to harm your son, he saved him.” Eddie tries to shush the woman but she was having _none_ of it.

“Help that poor boy, do something-” Another voice cuts in, a random voice in the crowd.

“Can’t you see how scared he is?” A second voice, and the woman cries again, tears now in her eyes.

“Release my son Pitch!” She screeches, and Richie swallows thickly.

“Ma’am, he’s working for us. He won’t-” Stan comes to his defence but he can’t even finish the sentence.

“I don’t care that he brainwashed you, I want my son back now!” She screams, charging at Richie again. And this time, Richie is completely frozen, numb as he sees her hand coming straight at his face, slapping him.

“MA’AM!” He could hear Ben gasp in shock, grabbing her arms and pulling her back.

“I thought Imperium were the good guys.” Someone murmurs.

“Nox got to them.”

“They’re working with the enemy”

“I wasn’t going to harm your son-” Richie tries to cut through the murmurs, gently guiding Robbie from his back. The little boy glances at him, uncertain what to do for a moment but the woman pulls herself free, reaching towards Robbie and pulling him out of Richie’s reach.

“They should have you locked up for what you did-” She hisses, pushing Robbie behind her.

“Unbelievable-” Another person mutters in the crowd. Eddie steps forwards, Richie’s name on his lips but he stops himself before he can. Not like Richie would’ve heard him either way, because he takes one last look around the room before vanishing into the shadows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #GiveRichieABreak2020
> 
> I can't stop hurting the poor guy. It's going to get better I promise... eventually that is. But forgiveness and trust won't come easy for Richie, and people are obviously not going to forget what Richie has done in the past.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I completely forgot to update yesterday because I was so relieved when I saw the news that Biden won!! Congrats everyone, you're awesome!! 
> 
> Now onto the next chapter!

All the Losers were adamant about going home quickly, not even in the mood to stay behind and take some pictures like they often did. Not like it was a good idea for them to stay behind anyways. Eddie looked like he was going to murder someone, _anyone_ who dared to talk shit about Richie.

Which would _not_ have helped their case that Pitch didn’t brainwash them.

“Richie?” Eddie asks the moment he walks into their living room, looking around. He quickly spots Richie, sitting on the couch with his face in his hands. The hood was on the back of his neck, curls partially covering his face.

“I blew it-” Richie mutters, glancing sideways at Eddie.

“Fuck no.” Eddie hisses, making his way over to the curly haired boy.

“Those assholes don’t know shit Trashmouth.” Bev adds, and Richie quietly looks as the rest of the Losers walk in. Richie’s eyes find Ben’s, who was standing there with an apologetic look on his face, phone in his hand.

“How bad is it?” He asks softly, and Ben frowns, almost hesitantly looking at his phone.

“We’re trending on Twitter, lots of people are tweeting about us-” Ben says, and Richie groans loudly, rubbing at his face. “Brainwashing, manipulation, you lying, there’s a lot of speculation.” Ben continues, and Richie sighs, shaking his head.

“I’m sure not everyone’s negative?” Mike asks, and Richie can’t even get himself to smile in appreciation at that, too distraught.

“There are some defending you, there’s even one saying how you saved him once,” Ben says, glancing at Richie, but the curly haired boy shrugs. He has no idea who Ben was referring to. All the Losers glance up as the door suddenly opens, and Dick Hallorann walks in slowly.

Richie groans again. “Shit I’m so sorry, I ruined it for-” Richie starts but Dick shakes his head silently, holding up a hand. Richie surprisingly shuts his mouth, shrinking into himself a bit.

“It’s not your fault Richard, and we knew that there was a big risk in putting you on the team.” He says, and Bill steps forwards.

“S-So what happens now?” He asks, and Dick sighs softly.

“We’ll do damage control, explain the situation and hopefully convince the public that you are now on our side.” Dick speaks and Richie scoffs.

“And what if they aren’t?”

“Then we’ll deal with that Trashmouth, you’re not going anywhere-” Bev speaks up, reaching forwards and wrapping two arms tightly around him. Richie chuckles slightly at that, looking up as he feels a hand on his shoulder, seeing Stan glance down at him as well.

“You shouldn’t have to deal with me though…. maybe I should just-” Richie starts but Dick quickly shakes his head.

“None of that Richard, you’re one of us now whether we like it or not,” Dick says, an amused smile on his face at the joke. “We will not be bullied into taking you off the team, but it might be wise to.. avoid missions until this has settled a bit.” He finishes, and Richie slowly nods.

He knew that it was coming, even expected to be thrown off for good, but he was just numb at the decision, and the thought that they would fight for him.

“Thank you-” Richie whispers to Dick, and the older man smiled before excusing himself.

*

*

*

“Are you coming for dinner?” Eddie asks as he walks into Richie’s room.

“‘m not hungry-” Richie mumbles, and Eddie frowns. Richie was laying on his bed, stomach down. He was facing the wall, phone in his hand and scrolling through _something_. Eddie walks into the room, letting the door fall shut behind him, and all too quickly he recognises the Twitter feed.

Richie was continuously scrolling through all the countless Tweets, and Eddie quickly spots the term ‘Imperium’ in all of them.

Eddie sighs, walking up to Richie’s bed. “You have to stop that-” He mutters, but Richie doesn’t react, continuously scrolling through. “Richie..” Eddie whispers, gently reaching out for the phone. Richie tightens his fingers around the phone for a second, as if he was afraid to let it go.

But he relents as Eddie takes the phone from him, the device slipping through his fingers.

Eddie pockets the phone, shutting it off completely so Richie wouldn’t be able to grab it quickly. Richie sits up slowly, joints cracking audibly as he does so. The two boys remain silent for a moment, and Eddie has no idea what to say. There wasn’t anything he _could_ say really.

“Maturin warned me that this could happen-” Richie starts softly after a long silence. Eddie glances at him. “They said I would live with a debt forever maybe, but I never thought about… I always thought they meant that _I_ had to live with it. I never stopped to think it was others who wouldn’t forgive me.”

Eddie’s face falls, and he scoots a little closer to Richie. “You shouldn’t _have_ to think about it in the first p-”

“No stop that,” Richie interrupts, shaking his head. “I can’t just go on and distance myself from what I did. It doesn’t matter that it was Nox who told me to do those things, I still did them. Some things I did were even fun, and I can’t just.. make that go away.” Richie complains.

He groans, rubbing his face harshly, and Eddie almost wants to scowl at him for doing so, but he decides against it.

“Not the killing right?” Eddie asks softly, and Richie frowns at him. “The killing wasn’t what you liked….right?” Eddie repeats the question, much more hesitant this time. As if he was almost doubting himself when he believed that Richie would never be able to enjoy the killing his team has done.

Richie shakes his head, biting his lip. “No never, but messing with the bad guys was fun. Or at least, I hope they were the bad guys. Who the fuck knows with Nox?” Richie blows out an annoyed breath, glaring at the thought.

“Did I ever tell you about _before_ I joined Imperium?” Eddie suddenly asks, and Richie glances at him, shaking his head. “When I discovered I had powers, and when I realised my mom had used hers to pretend I was sick, I ran away. I told you about that, right?” Eddie asks, just to be sure.

But he was already sure that Richie knew about that, and so Eddie wasn’t surprised when Richie nods in confirmation.

“I didn’t know _what_ to believe back then, and maybe I didn’t even think about questioning everything my mom told me, I don’t really remember, but I used to be really angry at Imperium-”

“Wait why?” Richie frowns, and Eddie shrugs.

“I hated their holier than thou attitude,” Richie snickers at that. “I thought they didn’t care about the little guy like me, and that they only came out when there was like a big threat that they could use for publicity.”

“Damn you really hated their guts huh?” Richie whistles, and Eddie scowls at that.

“My mom told me they don't care, and I mean, I wanted a good reason why they never got me out-” Eddie whispers the last bit, looking down. “And I know it’s all bullshit, they couldn’t have known about me, but I still blamed them so I refused to ask for their help when I fled.” Eddie adds.

Richie frowns slightly, nodding. “I can see why you did that,” He mumbles. “Even if I fled from Nox, I wouldn’t have come here, ever.” Richie explains, shrugging slightly.

“I spent a lot of time on the streets, helping wherever I could and dodging the rest of the Losers once they found out about me,” Eddie continues. “When I eventually did join them, I had to follow their rules. We have an exemplary function, we can’t just go around beating up everyone we don’t like-”

“Imagine the freak out that would cause.” Richie chuckles to himself.

“I still think some deserve it. We’re taught to apprehend first, make sure they can’t hurt anyone and let the courts take over, but sometimes I just want to… I want them to hurt like their victims-” Eddie continues, still looking down.

“Like when we fought Pennywise?” Richie asks softly, and Eddie nods. “That asshole deserved it though Eds, you can’t blame yourself for that.”

“No you’re right, he deserved that, but Imperium wasn’t happy I did,” Eddie shrugs. “I guess what I’m saying is that I understand where you’re coming from. We’ve all had our moments-”

“I call bullshit on Ben, no way did he hurt someone on purpose.” Richie cuts in and Eddie raises an eyebrow, looking at him. “No way-” Richie gasps at that, and Eddie just nods.

“He can be scary when he’s mad, but it has only happened once when Bev got injured,” Eddie explains. “I guess it happened to me the most, but Bev has her days as well. You’re not alone.”

“I’m still calling bullshit on Benny-boy,” Richie chuckles, shaking his head light-heartedly. “But damn Eds, I don’t know if I want to join you guys now I know this.” He jokes, and Eddie hits him in his side.

“Asshole,” He murmurs, and the two fall into a short silence. Slowly Eddie glances at Richie, scooting a little closer and settling his hand in his hair. Richie groans, tipping his head a little to the side as an encouragement. Eddie chuckles, scratching Richie’s scalp lightly.

“So should I be scared of any of you?” Richie teases as Eddie continues to massage his scalp. Eddie snorts slightly, shifting until he is sitting behind Richie, and the longer boy lays down on his lap, staring up.

“Just remember that we can kick your ass if we want to.” Eddie teases, and Richie raises an eyebrow.

“Please, your powers don’t even work on me.” Richie sticks his tongue out, and Eddie tugs on his hair, forcing an embarrassing sound out of Richie’s throat. His brown eyes widen, cheeks turning red.

“That’s what I thought-” Eddie snickers, and Richie groans.

“That’s cheating Eds,” Richie complains, gazing up at Eddie. “Besides, I don’t need any powers to kick your ass.” Richie shoots back, and Eddie chuckles at that, staring down at Richie for a moment longer.

“Let’s do something tomorrow, as civilians.” Eddie suddenly proposes, and Richie’s eyebrows lift at that in surprise.

“Is that safe?” He asks, and Eddie can’t help but snort at that.

“We all have lives outside of our masks, of course it is. It’s why we wear masks,” Eddie retorts. “You wear a mask as well.”

“Yes but that was because my parents didn’t want my identity out there, otherwise I wouldn’t be able to go undercover,” Richie points out. “Who would I even go as? I can’t just… show up as Richie Tozier.” Richie adds, and Eddie shakes his head.

“Imperium has been working on a new identity for you, Stan’s parents are willing to take you in, make you their nephew.” Eddie explains, and Richie climbs up at that, turning towards Eddie to look at him.

“Why?” He asks, voice scratchy.

Eddie sighs. “Bev’s aunt did it for me when I came to Imperium, we all need a home and they were both willing to take me in, but I was closer with Bev back then so I chose her. But Donald and Andrea are awesome, and Andrea is an amazing cook.”

“Oh well that settles it then,” Richie chuckles, and Eddie playfully pushes Richie away, but ignores the remark.

“It will take a few more weeks to finalise everything, but for now it should be okay to go outside. It’s not like they’re going to ask for your ID everywhere we go.” Eddie shrugs.

“So what about my mom?” Richie asks softly.

“Do you think she’ll come after you so soon, and in public?” Eddie asks, and Richie glances down for a moment but quickly shakes his head.

“She wouldn’t, not this soon,” Richie says, biting his lip. “She lost too much, and she knows I would’ve told everything I know, every person working for Nox.”

“Then let’s go somewhere tomorrow, when was the last time you were out as a civilian?” Eddie asks, and Richie chuckles sheepishly.

“Never?”

*

*

*

Eddie can’t help the smile on his face as he watches Richie take in everything around him. The curly haired boy is looking around him in wonder as they walk through the streets, hands intertwined. Eddie doesn’t know whether he did that to keep Richie from wandering off or just because he likes holding his hand.

“What’s going on there?” Richie asks softly, and Eddie glances at where Richie is pointing.

“Probably a market,” Eddie murmurs, already starting to pull Richie over to the spot.

“Dude what the fuck, there are so many people-” Richie exclaims, turning around to take everything in. Eddie chuckles at Richie’s wonder, taking his hand back as Richie continues to look around him. “What should w- oh shit sorry.” Richie cuts himself off, accidentally walking into a large man.

“Watch where you’re going.” The man huffs, pushing Richie away and walking past them. Eddie glances at Richie, but the curly haired quickly burst out in another round of giggles, sending a mocking face towards the man, and sticking out his tongue.

“What a ray of sunshine.” Richie comments, grinning sheepishly at Eddie. The latter boy groans.

“You can hold your ground against your parents but you’re probably going to die trying to blend in with civilians-” Eddie mutters, rubbing his head. Richie wraps an arm around his neck, pulling him towards him.

“Aw don’t be a spoil sport Eddie, that man probably hasn’t gotten laid in a few years, or ever, he was obviously all bite no bark,” Richie defends himself. “Now you said something about icecream?” Richie changes the subject and Eddie raises an eyebrow at him.

“I have no clue what you’re talking about, sorry-” Eddie says, turning his back to Richie with a sly smile on his face. Richie gapes, dancing after Eddie. The smaller boy glances at Richie for a moment before grabbing his hand. “I know something better, c’mon-” He says, pulling Richie along.

Richie let himself be pulled through the market, into a smaller street before stopping at another café.

“This is not ice cream-” Richie fake pouts, and Eddie rolls his eyes, pushing open the door.

“Now that wasn’t so hard.” Eddie retorts, already walking through the café.

“That’s what she said.” Richie laughs after him, ignoring the look the waitress gave them. Eddie sighs, shaking his head and leading Richie to the back. “So why here?” Richie asks as Eddie sits down.

“Because it’s more hidden from view. Nobody can see us from the outside from here-” Eddie says, gesturing back to the entrance, which Richie couldn’t see from here. “And the pastries are amazing here, so we usually come here with the rest of the Losers.” Eddie explains, taking the menus and handing one to Richie.

Richie takes the menu, glancing down. “So what do _you_ usually get?” He asks, eyes roaming across the menu and taking in all the different things he could order. “Wait I don’t even have any money, how am I-” Richie suddenly starts, eyes widening, but before he can finish that sentence, Eddie shakes his head.

“We get money from _work_ , I can pay, don’t worry.”

“Aw are ya offering to pay for dear old moi?”

“Well not anymore.” Eddie shoots back with a deadpan expression, sighing.

“I mean you did ask me out on this date, it’s only fair that you pay,” Richie jokes, shooting him a kiss.

“So it’s a date now?” Eddie challenges, and Richie gasps, ready to say something else before a waitress walks over to them.

“Good afternoon, my name is Mindy and I’ll be your server today, what can I get you two?” The waitress, Mindy apparently, asks with a bright smile. Richie frowns, but Eddie speaks up before he can.

“Can we look through the menu for a moment?” He asks, and Mindy nods.

“I’ll be right back.” She smiles, walking away. Richie turns back to Eddie immediately.

“I don’t trust her, did you see how she was acting?” Richie says, and Eddie groans.

“She does that so we tip her more at the end, she's being friendly-” Eddie says, and Richie glances back at where Mindy was serving another woman.

Richie shakes his head at that, turning back to Eddie. “Yeah sorry, I guess I’m just a little on edge-” Richie says, jumping as the bell of the front door rang. Eddie can’t suppress a laugh at that, and Richie sticks out his tongue. “Make yourself useful and tell me what to get-”

Eddie grins at the small sense of victory, also looking down at the menu. “The scones are really good here-”

In the end Eddie orders for both of them since Richie apparently tried _nothing_ on the menu so far, and he trusts Eddie to pick something he liked for him.

“Would I have to enrol in a public school?” Richie asks eventually as Mindy walks away with their order. Eddie shrugs.

“That’s up to you, I’m _homeschooled_ -” Eddie starts, and they both knew what homeschooled really meant, Imperium. Which they obviously can’t say out loud. “So are Bev and Mike, although I know Mike was thinking about going to an actual school, so you can choose.”

Richie looks down, fidgeting with his hands. “I’ve never really been to an actual school, I don't know if I want to.” Richie says, shaking his head.

“It can’t get much worse than me Rich, I once called the teacher ‘mom’ in front of the whole class-” Eddie says and Richie gasps.

“No you didn’t!’ He laughs, and the slight blush on Eddie’s cheeks were enough to confirm that he really did. “So that’s why your mom pulled you out of school?” He teases, and Eddie cuckles.

“Surprisingly not-” He muses, and Richie raises an eyebrow.

“She wasn’t threatened by you seeing someone else as your mom?” Richie shoots back with a teasing grin, and Eddie slaps him, scowling. “Hey that’s abuse!”

“Then stop making those comments, before the staff hears us, I would _love_ to visit this place more-”

“Aw she knows you already, I’m sure she’s used to worse.” Richie grins, and Eddie shakes his head.

“No she’s new, so please stop screwing up my first impression-”

“Are you planning on cheating?” Richie shoots back, and Eddie groans.

“It’s not like that,” Eddie shoots back, before he smirks. “Besides, who says we’re dating?” Richie gapes at him, and Eddie takes it as a win.

“Well if you are so set on giving me blue balls, guess I’ll just have to give little Richie some attention-” Richie huffs, standing up.

“You’re not-” Eddie exclaims, eyes widening but Richie barks out a laugh, waving him off.

“I’m just going to the bathroom, relax Eds,” He laughs. “I’ll promise not to think of you when I’m holding Richie junior.”

“Beep beep-” Eddie deadpans, and Richie just laughs as he walks over to the hallway, where the toilets were supposed to be.

“You two make a cute couple,” A random voice suddenly says behind him, and Richie wants to grin, but before he can respond, a wave of dizziness washes over him. It hits him full force, and Richie crashes to the ground. He groans, eyes widening as something wraps around his throat.

“Mom?” He gasps, eyes widening. The woman above him sneers down at him, pulling off her wig and hat. Someone else walks up to him, grabbing him from behind and pulling him up. Richie’s breath hitches as a knife was put against his throat.

“So I guess that boy is Luminance huh?” His mom smiles in victory, and Richie’s stomach twists.

“Fat chance, as if they would reveal their identities so soon-” Richie hisses, kicking out at his mom but she just looks unbothered as the person behind him keeps him in his place. He freezes as the knife is pressed tighter against his throat, going still.

“I think they would, after your betrayal they would have no chance but to trust you-” His mom says, glancing back at the door. “Get the boy in here, we’re taking them both.”

“N-” Richie screams, but before he can finish the word, a hand clamps on top of his mouth. He growls, bucking against the figure and trying to dislodge the grip. But all too quickly, the familiar wave of dizziness washes over him and he would’ve crashed to the ground if it wasn’t for the person holding him.

He cries out as he feels his mom’s hand running through his hair, pulling his head up so he was forced to look at her. He glares, spitting in her face but she doesn’t even flinch.

“You’ll regret ever betraying your father and I-” She says, almost devoid of any emotion before bringing a knee up and forcing his head down. Richie cries out as his head connects with her knee, and this time the person lets him go. He crashes to the cold floor, head ringing painfully.

He groans, turning onto his stomach. Everything hurts, everything is spinning. He can feel blood streaming down the side of his face, and he reaches out desperately, trying to crawl away.

“Do you really have that little dignity left?” His mom hisses, but Richie grits his teeth, ignoring her. She huffs, walking over to him and kicking out his left arm from under him. Richie cries out, pain shooting up his left arm and hitting the ground again.

“Richie!” A voice suddenly screams, and Richie can just turn on his back fast enough to see Eddie conjure two daggers, a man behind him… the man who-

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you-” His mother hisses, and before Richie knows what’s happening, something sharp prods against his chest. His breath hitches, eyes widening as he follows the weapon. The woman who had the knife pressed against his throat, which turns out, wasn’t actually a knife.

Her whole hand was formed into a sharp knife, no doubt powerful enough to pierce his heart. But that isn’t even the worst, and betrayal stings in his eyes as he looks up at Mindy, the waitress that just served them.

“Eddie, go!” Richie rasps, but Eddie doesn’t move, eyes widening. The man.. the man he had bumped into on the streets still behind him.

“Don’t hurt him, please-” He whispers, letting the daggers disappear.

“No Eds! Just go, please!” Richie cries out as Mindy’s, if that was even her name, other hand shoots towards him, pinning him to the ground by his throat. He can hear his name being called out, but he can’t see Eddie anymore, eyes watering and hand preventing him from moving his neck. His hands fly up, trying to dislodge the woman’s hand.

“I’m sorry-” Eddie whispers, and Richie sobs as he hears the familiar click of a collar wrapping around Eddie’s throat.

“Get them back to the compound.” His mother orders, before Richie can feel something being injected into his body, and everything goes black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh no...


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo.. this has been awhile, times flies when you're having fun.... or getting ready to hand in your thesis draft. Whoops :s 
> 
> I don't know when I'll be able to get the last chapter out, but I've already written a big portion, I'll just need to tie up all loose ends. So if you have something you're wondering about, let me know! For now, enjoy the chapter and I would love to knonw what you think! 
> 
> (Some TW apply, you can find them at the end, please read them if you have triggers and be warned.)

Eddie groans, blinking sluggishly. His eyelids feel heavy, almost didn’t _want_ to open, but he forces them open nevertheless. He groans again, looking around the empty room, empty except for..

“Rich?” Eddie croaks, but Richie doesn’t turn to him, sitting still on the ground.

“You should’ve run.” Richie whispers, hands tightening around his arms. He is sitting on the ground, knees pulled to his chest and arms wrapped around his knees. He is glaring at no point in particular, frustration clearly written on his face.

“You know I couldn’t-”

“Like hell you couldn’t!” Richie hisses, turning to Eddie. “What do you think was going to happen? With or without you, I would’ve ended up here anyways, now my mom just has more leverage.” Richie huffs, continuing to glare. Eddie’s eyes widen, and he hastily climbs to his feet.

He groans again, muscles _screaming_ at him to stop but he pushes through it, walking over to Richie.

“Rich-” He whispers, but Richie turns his face away from him, gritting his teeth. “Richie please look at me.” Eddie tries again, knees digging uncomfortably into the ground beneath them. It was ice-cold beneath his skin, the pants he is wearing seemingly barely protecting him from it.

The collar around his throat only seems to tighten the moment he sees how tightly it was wrapped around Richie’s throat. He feels empty, lost without his powers. He hasn’t felt so vulnerable ever since he escaped from his mother, when he discovered just what he could do with his powers.

“You weren’t supposed to be here-” Richie whispers, and slowly Eddie realises that Richie was shaking. “I’m sorry.” He adds in a whisper, barely audible. It was like Richie was squeezing the words out, not enough air to succeed.

“No Richie-” Eddie denies, shaking his head and struggling to his feet again. He stumbles around Richie, until he is in front of him. Immediately he lets himself fall to his knees again, putting his hands on either side of Richie’s face. The curly haired boy slowly looks up with teary eyes.

Eddie can feel his heart squeeze at the sight. Richie is crying, tears rolling down his cheeks as he looks at Eddie with so much regret and guilt. Eddie can’t get himself to speak, throat suddenly very dry. He just stares at Richie’s face, gently wiping away the tears that were lingering on his cheeks.

Richie brings up a hesitant hand, settling on Eddie’s, but he doesn’t say something. And for a moment they just stare.

“It’s not your fault Richie,” Eddie whispers, shaking his head before Richie can protest. “It’s not. I won’t let you blame yourself, it’s your mom’s fault.” Eddie finishes, and Richie swallows thickly.

“You should’ve just run… I’m not worth it-”

“That’s bullshit, and you know it.” Eddie hisses, and Richie sighs, hanging his head.

“At least now you know how I felt when you guys captured me-” Richie chuckles humorously, and Eddie unconsciously reaches for his collar, wincing at the harsh reminder. The collar feels horrible against his skin, and he wants nothing more than to tear it off his neck as soon as possible.

Richie glances at him with calculating eyes, reaching up to wipe the last of his own tears away and taking Eddie’s hands.

“The rest will come, they’ll come for you.” Richie says, but Eddie frowns.

“They’ll come for us both, Richie. You’re one of us now-”

Richie snorts loudly. “Did you hear what the guards said? As if they would risk their lives for me, they still think I can’t be trusted.” Richie whispers, but Eddie shakes his head roughly.

“Fuck them, they don’t know shit okay? The Losers all trust you, so do the elders. They will come for you too,” Eddie says in a determined voice, not allowing Richie to say anything else. “Now what are _we_ going to do?” He adds, and Richie cocks his head to the side at that question.

“What?”

“We can’t just sit around and do nothing, we have to find a way to escape, maybe we can mess with the coll-”

“Eddie-” Richie groans, putting a hand on top of Eddie’s mouth to stop him. “There’s nothing we can do, there’s no escape from here.” Richie says, staring at Eddie to let him know he was serious, there was no way out. Eddie gapes at him, silent for a moment.

“What do you _mean_ there’s nothing we can do?” Eddie whispers slowly, and Richie sighs.

“There’s no escape, we’re not getting these collars off, we can’t open the door, so how do you plan on getting out?” Richie retorts, starting to feel frustrated. Eddie huffs angrily, climbing to his feet.

“Well I’m not sitting around waiting for someone to show up-” He says, walking over to the door. Richie blows out a frustrated breath, shaking his head and leaning his head on his knees before closing his eyes.

*

*

*

Eddie is immediately on his feet when the door opens, heart hammering in his chest, and he stiffens as one of the guards walk in.

“Long time no see, Sue-” Richie mutters darkly, glancing up from his spot on the ground. The woman sneers down at him.

“You’re lucky your mother wants you alive, _traitor_.” Sue hisses, but Richie shrugs, seemingly unbothered by the remark.

“Wow real creative, did that take you a few days to-” Richie doesn’t get a chance to finish, convulsing on the spot before he can. A cry slips out of Richie’s mouth, and he falls to the side with a loud thud.

“Richie!” Eddie gasps, rushing to his side and falling to his knees. It seems to last hours, but it could’ve only been seconds before Richie stops convulsing. He gasps for air, spluttering as he pushes himself upwards. He sends a glare towards Sue, who was standing there with a controller in her hand.

And a figure standing next to her.

“Good to see you again, _mom_.” Richie hisses, Eddie holding him back with a glare on his face. His mother looks at him with an indifferent look, but Richie could see right through it. It was like the mask he wore as Pitch, or Eddie as Luminance, it was all fake, to hide her real face from them.

His mom walks into the room, keeping her eyes on them. Of course they can’t do much without their powers, but his mom was smart enough to not risk it.

“Do you have any idea what you have done Richard?” His mom asks, and Richie climbs to his feet, looking at his mom. And whereas Richie can see the pain in his mother’s eyes, pain over losing her husband and being betrayed, hihs mom could see his real face. The face that was stinging with hurt.

The fact that he had to abandon his family, his parents, and everything he knows.

“I wouldn’t be standing here if I didn’t right?” Richie snarks back, and he was sure that Eddie would’ve told him off for that comment if they were alone, but they aren’t.

“Don’t fret, it’s just a minor setback. I mean did you seriously think you would be able to elude me forever?”

“I surely hoped so.” Richie shoots back, and this time Eddie silently tugs on Richie’s arm, as a way to make him stop antagonising his mother.

“I thought I raised you better than that-”

“Well you also thought I would be loyal to you b-” Richie starts but all too quickly he can feel the familiar nausea wash over him. He cries out, the effects _always_ more intense when he doesn’t have his powers. He can feel his knees buckle, but he feels two arms catch him, and he blinks rapidly.

_Shit_. Richie curses in himself, pushing down how shaky his legs are and untangling himself from Eddie’s grip.

“It will be meaningless, you’re going to tell me where Imperium is and we will get your father and everyone back.”

“Fat chance _mom_ ,” Richie hisses, taking a step forward. “You trained me to keep my big mouth shut remember? You know I won’t tell you anything.”

His mom takes a step forwards as well, until she is standing right in front of Richie. The boy doesn’t let up, staring straight at his mom.

“We’ll see about that.” She says, lingering for just a few more seconds before turning around to Sue. Within seconds he can feel electricity coursing through his boddy. He cries out at the unexpected pain, convulsing on the spot. He doesn’t even feel Eddie’s hands anymore, writhing with pain.

A cry of pain escapes his lips and he calmps them shut, _trying_ to keep quiet. He wouldn’t give his mother the satisfaction of seeing him in pain, he refused. He doesn’t know how long it takes, too long, before the electricity ends, and he’s left gasping painfully.

“Please just stop-” Eddie tries, and Richie can feel hands on his arm, the cold ground digging into his side. So he _had_ fallen down. Richie doesn’t have the energy to stand up, breathing heavily and wincing in pain. His mother was still looking down on him, voice devoid of anything resembling regret.

She doesn’t care, she doesn’t care that Sue is hurting him, she doesn’t feel conflicted. It isn’t like she didn’t want to hurt him but she needed to to find his dad… it wasn’t like she did it because she had no other choice. No she just didn’t care, there was no pleasure in his torture.

Just indifference, as if she was swatting a fly that was annoying her.

“Eds-” Richie hisses, shutting him up. He couldn’t draw attention to himself, Richie knows he can take the pain… but seeing Eddie going through that pain? “So what now mom? You know I won’t talk.” Richie retorts, out loud this time, and his mother smirks.

“Not yet.” She says, glancing at Sue for a second before leaving. The button is pressed again and he cries out in pain, back arching painfully. His mouth opens in a silent scream, leaving him gasping for air as the electricity stops. Richie’s eyes dart around, confused why it stopped so soon.

“Are you ready to talk yet?” Sue hisses as she walks over to Richie. She glances at Eddie, narrowing her eyes slightly as if she is _daring_ him to attack her. Richie glares back at her.

“Not even when hell freezes over-” He hisses, and a short burst of electricity courses through his veins, and he bites his lip _hard_ to keep himself from crying out. “Fat chance.” He bites out, glaring at Sue. Sue frowns at that, sighing before turning away.

“What, giving up so soon?” Richie quips, mentally preparing himself for the electricity but it doesn’t come.

“Your mother will be back soon, you’re going to regret those words.” She shoots back, glaring at them one more time before walking out of the cell. “Enjoy it while you can.” She says, throwing two apples into the room before she closes the door. Richie groans as he pulls himself into a seating position.

Eddie wordlessly reaches for two, now bruised, apples. “Would your mom poison them?” He asks softly, and Richie frowns, not reacting for a moment. “Richie?” Eddie tries, nudging Richie.

“Sorry Eds,” Richie sighs. “She wouldn’t give us food to begin with, I think she’s messing with me on purpose.” He explains, eyeing at the apples for a moment before grabbing one.

“Richie.” Eddie warns, but Richie already takes a bite.

“If she wanted us dead or drugged we would be.” He says, pushing himself back against the wall and eating his apple. Eddie glances from Richie to his apple, before also moving to Richie’s side, leaning against him and biting the apple.

“Are you okay?” Eddie asks softly, and Richie sighs, leaning his head onto Eddie’s head.

“Not until we get out of here-” He murmurs.

*

*

*

Richie freezes the moment the door opens again, looking at two figures with wide eyes. Eddie tenses behind him, but Richie doesn’t pay attention to him, shoving him completely behind him and glaring.

“Don’t you dare touch me-” Richie hisses, looking at the man. His mom seems satisfied by the reaction, smirking.

“Richie wh-” Eddie starts but he can’t hear more. A wave of dizziness crashes over him, and falls to the ground again, pain spreading through him. Everything is spinning, and he can barely make out the man walking over to him. But he doesn’t stop, reaching for Eddie and pulling him to his feet.

“N-” Richie tries, but he feels his stomach lurch, dry-heaving. The man drags Eddie back to the wall, snapping a cuff around his wrist and attaching it to the wall before reaching for him. He groans loudly, but he finds himself unable to fight back as the man drags him over the ground towards his mother.

Richie gasps as the dizziness stops, eyes widening and trying to look at Eddie, and the way he was chained to the wall, unable to get free. Eddie locks eyes with him, and for a moment they stay like that, just staring at each other. And then Eddie’s eyes widen, and Richie recognises the lock of the gun too late.

“NO!” He hears Eddie yell before he screams in pain, pain exploding in his stomach. He can hear Eddie yelling, but he can’t comprehend it, can’t… he can only feel the pain, pulsing through him, enveloping everything. Tears slip out of his eyes, and before he knows it, two hands are placed on his stomach.

He cries out in pain, but he forces his eyes open. “John can make the pain go away.” His mother says, looking at him with a stoic expressions.

“Richie!” Eddie cries out, but he ignores it.

“F-Fuck… you.” He rasps, coughing and feeling blood coat his lips. His mother sighs, not out of surprise, she knows he wouldn’t break so soon.

“10 seconds-” The man says suddenly, and his mother sighs, nodding. Richie’s breath hitches, seeing John’s hands starting to glow, a familiar red glow. He lets it wash over him, taking the pain away. He gasps, body shuddering with relief.

“Richie?” Eddie whispers, and Richie groans, glancing back at Eddie. Of course he doesn’t understand, of course he was scared. John Torrance was a man Richie was all too familiar with, having grown up with him. He had a very special set of powers that could be exploited by his parents.

He wasn’t particularly useful in battle, but he was often used for training, or even as a form of torture.

“Do explain what just happened.” John teases, letting his hands flicker red. Richie sends him a glare.

“You’re just pissed you’re fucking useless,” Richie spits.

“I don’t need them to do this.” John replies, kicking Richie in the stomach. Richie gasps, curling into himself.

“Must feel so fucking proud,” Richie splutters, swallowing thickly and turning to Eddie. “He can reverse damage done up to a minute after it’s done, as long as the person is still alive.” He mutters, glancing at Eddie. The boy’s eyes widen at the realisation, suddenly understanding what just happened.

“So this-” John smirks, lifting his leg and bringing it down on Richie’s arm. Richie yells in pain, biting on his lip hard. “Can be reversed if you ask nicely.” He continues, looking down at him with a smirk.

“Go suck a dick-” Richie grinds out, and John presses down harder on his broken arm, twisting his foot slightly. Richie whimpers, feeling blood pool in his mouth.

“Clock is ticking, still nothing?” John asks, and his mother stands by, watching with glee. Richie groans, shaking his head. “Or how about I make the other boy beg?”

Richie’s head shoots up glaring at the man. “Don’t you fucking dare touch him.” He hisses, and John laughs.

“I’m not hearing anyth-”

“Heal his arm.” His mother suddenly cuts in, and John frowns as he glances at the woman. “Do it.” She adds, and John immediately stills, nodding. He bends to his arm, letting his hands glow red again. Richie shudders as the pain vanishes, but the memory is still fresh in his mind.

“Get him to the wall.” His mother continues, and suddenly he feels dizzy again, unable to struggle as John follows the order without question. He feels him pick him up by his previously broken arm, dragging him to the wall. He can’t even protest as John chains his arms to the wall, behind his back.

Both Richie and John glance at Maggie, but she was only focused on Eddie. _No_. “Get him loose.” She says, and Richie’s eyes widen.

“NO!” He yells, charging forwards and trying to attack John, but the man was too quick for him, dodging before walking over to Eddie. “I swear to god you better not touch him!” Richie yells but of course they didn’t listen, watching as Eddie groans suddenly, no doubt from Maggie using her powers.

The boy sags to the ground in an uncontrollable heap, and John takes that moment to unlock the cuffs with the key, pulling the boy with him. Richie can do nothing but watch in horror as Maggie steps forwards before glancing at him.

“Love is making you weak Richard,” She says. “And you just revealed that you care for Luminance.” She continues, lifting her leg and kicking out. Eddie cries out, curling into himself. He blinks warily, which only lets Richie know that Maggie wasn’t using her powers anymore on him.

But that doesn’t mean Eddie was safe. Maggie kicks out again, a stoic look on her face as she hears Eddie cry out in pain again.

“Stop please!” Richie pleads, but he knows he already messed up. He should’ve never let her know how much he cared, how much Eddie meant to him. That was his biggest mistake, and a mistake he would maybe never forgive himself. Richie’s eyes widen as his mom pulls something out of her pocket.

He yells again, throwing himself forwards. He can’t hide the pain flaring up in his wrists, cuffs digging into his skin but he doesn’t care.

“Richie it’s o-” Eddie tries, but he’s cut off abruptly as electricity crackles through his body. _It’s okay.. it’s okay_. It wasn’t, it wasn’t okay. Eddie was screaming, writhing on the ground. Richie could hear the hurt in his voice, how he was screaming his throat raw, and he knew Eddie would be feeling that.

Richie is sobbing by the time his mom finally decides to stop, tears streaming down his face. Eddie gasps, whimpering as he tries to curl into himself.

“You can make this end if you just tell me where-”

“Richie d-don’t.” Eddie cuts Maggie off, looking at him with teary eyes, but determination in them. Maggie huffs, pressing the device against Eddie again. The smaller boy lets out a yell again, back arching painfully. This time it ends quicker,, and Maggie straightens up to glance at Richie again.

But Richie stays silent, crying without making a single sound. He didn’t even have the stomach to try and comfort Eddie. What can he even say? It was his fault they were in this position, if he just hadn’t betrayed his family if he had just stayed away when they rescued him…

Eddie didn’t deserve this, neither of them did.

“Maybe we should up the stakes.” John offers, reaching for a knife.

“Piss off-” Eddie forces out, glaring up at the man. Richie would’ve laughed if they weren’t in the current situation. But he can’t, he can only look in horror as Maggie nods, and John bends down before slashing at Eddie. Eddie cries out as a large cut appears on his arm, starting to bleed quickly.

His hand reaches out, hissing in pain. It isn’t flowing freely, but it was still a cut, a cut made to inflict pain. Richie bites down a whimper, pulling on his chains again.

“Still nothing?” Maggie asks, but she clearly isn’t surprised by the lack of an answer. “Continue.” She says, and more tears trail down Richie’s face as John slashes at Eddie again, and again, and again. Eddie cries out constantly, trying to twist away from the attacks.

He kicks, hitting John in the knee and the man growls slashing again. Eddie’s mouth opens in a silent yell as his eyes fly to his leg. Blood was _pouring_ out.

“NO!” Richie yells, pulling at the chains. He yells, not sure whether out of pain or desperation. “Help him, he’s going to bleed out!” He tries, but Maggie just glances at him.

“Then tell me what I want to know.” She says, and Richie sobs, shaking his head. He couldn’t... he couldn’t betray the rest of Imperium. And there was no way Maggie would let Eddie die. But still, seeing Eddie bleed out in front of him was terrifying. “The clock is ticking Richard.” She reminds him, and Richie chokes on a sob.

“You won’t let him die, you.. you won’t.” Richie says, and Maggie frowns, glancing back at Eddie. The puddle of blood was slowly growing every second, and Richie almost couldn’t believe Eddie was still breathing, much less alive.

“Tell me.” She says again, still collected and Richie hates it. How can she just watch as a teenager bleeds out on the ground? Richie only has his eyes on Eddie, but the boy was hiccupping weakly, eyes glassy and staring up. Blood was gushing through his trembling fingers.

And then John moves, bending down and allowing his hands to glow red again. Richie can’t even feel relief as the wound stitches shut and Eddie gasps, eyes focusing again. The blood doesn’t disappear, but Richie knows that inside the blood is back to normal again, a weird way John’s powers worked.

“Let’s try this again.” Maggie says, and John bends down to slash at Eddie again. Over and over again. Every time hurting Eddie enough to kill, but reviving him every time. Two times, three times, four times.

Eight times.

“Mom stop!” Richie sobs as Eddie was pulled out again. “You’re going to kill him if you continue.” He continues, desperation in his voice. John may be able to heal physical wounds, but the trauma Eddie’s body was going through was eventually going to take its toll, and they all knew it.

Everyone except for Eddie.

Eddie, who was breathing heavily on the ground, chest rising and falling erratically and without a true pattern. Eddie’s limbs that keep twitching, grasping at thin air as if it was needed to stay alive. His face was pale, and blood started trickling from his nostrils, a clear sign of his body threatening to give in.

John pays no attention, ready to slash again when suddenly all the lights go off. Richie’s eyes widen in the dark, and he jumps when he suddenly feels his powers wash over him. He doesn’t hesitate, jumping out of the collar and his restraints, running towards Eddie. He jumps again, grabbing Eddie and pulling back into the shadows.

He yells loudly as he collides with the wall, falling backwards. “Fuck-” Richie gasps before he can stop himself, eyes going wide. He couldn’t... he couldn’t jump out. His eyes widen, and he scrambles for Eddie, who was coughing next to him. He reaches for the collar, pulling it off and glancing at Eddie.

“What happened?” Eddie asks, just seconds before the lights turn on again.

“You were going to kill him-” An all too familiar voice says suddenly, and Richie whips his head to stare at Sue, standing there with a gun in her hands, pointed at Maggie and John.

“Sue?” Richie gasps, blinking. Maggie’s eyes narrow.

“I couldn’t wait any longer, I’m sorry Maggie, but I never worked for you.” Sue continues, and Maggie straightens up slightly, grabbing _something-_

“And I never trusted you.” She says, before Sue suddenly cries out. Her back arches, and the gun drops the ground. Immediately Maggie jumps forwards to the gun but Richie runs at her, kicking the gun away just fast enough to deflect an attack from his mom. He grunts, pain lacing through his wrists.

Eddie jumps after him, attacking his mother. They were both trained to fight without his powers, but that didn’t make it any easier. Maggie lashes out, and Richie lands backwards, two arms suddenly wrapping around him. Richie yells, eyes widening and he twists in the grip.

He kicks out, throwing his elbow back. He hears a satisfying crack of the bone, and he scrambles out of the hold.

“What the fuck happened?” Richie asks, eyes wide as he looks at Sue.

“Back-up power dampeners-” Sue tries to get out, gasping as John charges at her. Richie jumps in front of them, blocking John’s attack with a loud grunt, striking out. There was blood streaming down John’s face, and he stumbles back with a shout of pain. Richie turns to Sue again.

“Can you get them off?” He asks, hopeful, and Sue nods.

“I can, I ju-”

“Look out!” Richie screams, but it is too late. Sue jerks her head to Richie, just seconds before John’s fist connects with her face. Sue cries out, stumbling back. John moves quickly, grabbing Sue’s ice blonde hair and pulling her to the wall.

“Bitch-” He growls before shoving her head against the wall loudly. Richie yells, jumping towards John. He jumps, wrapping himself around John’s back and catapulting him forwards. He can see Sue slump to the ground unconscious just as John crashes into the wall in front of him.

Richie jumps off the back, turning around to Eddie.

He was going head to head with his mom, dealing blow after blow to each other. Eddie has blood streaming down his nose, and an obviously broken nose. But his mom was visibly tired as well, and it was clear that Eddie was standing his ground, but inevitably losing to someone with 20 years of experience over him.

Richie growls, charging at his mom, but she realises all too quickly. She sidesteps, grabbing Eddie’s arm and practically shoving him at Richie. She doesn’t hesitate, lashing out again and kicking his knee from under him before delivering another blow to his face. He cries out as he feels his already damaged nose break on contact.

_Matching injuries_.

He cries out, but he manages to distract his mom long enough for Eddie to attack. He runs at her, jumping and wrapping his legs around her neck, pulling her down. She goes down with a loud thud, groaning in pain. She twists on the ground, lashing out at Eddie, who cries out in pain.

Richie wants to jump at them again, but he suddenly feels something grab him by the back of the neck. He cries out, immediately knowing it was John. The man grunts behind him, twirling around and throwing him at the wall. He collides harshly, and for a moment all he sees is black.

He feels something grab his wrist, and something is wrapped around it.. _a chain_. He struggles to blink his eyes open, and he feels his other wrist being grabbed as well. “No-” He gasps, the sight in front of him still blurry but he jumps up, swaying dangerously for a moment. He lashes out, swinging his leg over the ground.

He catches John by surprise, and Richie pulls his leg back, attacking John’s knee.

The joint gives way with a sickening crack, and John lets out a loud yell of pain. Richie doesn’t wait, and with just enough slack of the chain he can jump on John’s back. Richie throws his arm around John’s head before pulling. The chain wraps around John’s neck, and he pulls it taut.

John cries out beneath him at the chain, but Richie growls, pulling tighter. The man gasps, desperate hands reaching back for him. Richie yelps as he feels John wrap a hand around his left wrist, squeezing. Richie yells in pain, and his hand slips from the chain, loosening it immediately.

_No_. The thought immediately flashes through his mind, and without really thinking about it, he lets himself fall backwards. He cries out in pain as his left arm snaps upwards, automatically tightening the chain around John’s throat again. The man gurgles, reaching for the chain in panic.

Richie bites down on his lip and just stays put.

John reaches for his pocket, trying to pull out his gun but within seconds John’s struggling ceases, and Richie knows he’s out for now. He loosens his hold, grabbing John and slamming him into the wall, like he had done with Sue.

“Ri-” A cry comes, and Richie whips his head up to see Eddie being slammed into the ground hard, and his mom pulls out a big knife, ready to-

“STOP!” Richie cries out, feeling himself pull the gun out of John’s pocket and pointing it at his mom. His mom stops for a moment, smirking slightly.

“We both know you won’t,” She snickers, lifting an eyebrow. “Say goodbye to him-” She starts, ready to kill Eddie.

“No!” Richie shouts, and he flinches as the gun goes off. His mom gasps, stumbling back and crashing to the ground as the bullet penetrates her shoulder. The knife clatters to the ground. “Mom stop, please, don’t make me shoot you again.” Richie begs, starting to tug at the chains.

He _knows_ John has the keys somewhere on him, but there isn’t enough time. He can’t take the gun off his mom.

Maggie gasps in pain, bringing a panicked hand to her shoulder before her gaze settles on the knife, and she frowns in determination. Tears slide down Richie’s eyes, and for a last moment his eyes lock with his mother’s, who was staring right back at him with pure hatred, but also glee.

Her hand moves to the knife and she raised it, ready to slash Eddie’s thr-

_BANG_ **.**

Richie stands there _frozen_ as the bullet enters his mom’s stomach, blood seemingly exploding everywhere, but he knows that’s an exaggeration. She stumbles back, hands flying to her stomach, bullet wound in her shoulder suddenly forgotten. Richie gasps, tears sliding down.

He drops the gun immediately, rushing to John and frantically searching for the keys. Eddie groans painfully, and Richie looks at him wide eyed.

“Holy shit-” Eddie gasps, eyes locking on his mother.

“Help her!” Richie shouts, panicked. He grasps the keys, trying to stick them into the cuffs. He misses the first time, hands shaking. Eddie moves, hissing in pain from _some_ injury Richie couldn’t really see. Eddie pushes his mom on her back, shrugging off a layer of clothing and pressing it to her stomach.

Maggie groans in pain, and she tries to reach Eddie but her weak hands flop to the ground. Richie chokes on a sob, and the chains clatter to the ground. He stumbles up, rushing to his mom’s side. He falls to his knees, pushing Eddie’s hands away and replacing them with his own, pressing down.

“Stay with me mom, stay with me-” Richie chokes out, but he feels blood seeping through his fingers.

“L’m d-” His mom croaks, and Richie shakes his head.

“I won’t, I won’t let you die,” He croaks, pressing down harder. Tears were streaming down his face, blurring his side.

“R-Richie?” Someone whispers, but it’s not Eddie. So that just left... Sue.

“Help me, get help!” Richie yells, not taking his eyes off his mom. She blinks heavily, tears mixing with the blood.

“I..-” Sue starts. “I notified Imperium before coming here, they should be h-”

“Get them!” Richie interrupts her, eyes frantic. “Please just get them, they can save her.” He adds, and Maggie’s breath hitches, choking on a sob.

“Richie-” Eddie starts softly, but Richie shakes his head.

“No mom, keep breathing, listen to me please-” He gasps, but his mom turns away from him, and she releases another shuddering breath. He sobs loudly, arms shaking but he keeps them there. His wrist is screaming at him to stop, to give it a break, but he won’t, he can’t give up.

So he keeps still, applying pressure to the wound. _Please please please_. He repeats himself over and over again. Blood runs through his fingers, seeping into the cloth. His ears are ringing. Was Eddie talking? He has no idea, all he can focus on is his mom, laying there bleeding out.

Her eyes are closed, heartbeat… he doesn’t know.. he doesn’t _know_. Tears blur his vision and he feels himself shaking.. more and more. His heartbeat was booming in his head, a mockery… laughing at him. Blood… blood seeping, breath hitching. His hands lift slightly but he presses down.

No no please… please.

He can’t see, his hair falls, but it doesn’t matter. Tears fall, dripping down. Mix with red. He can’t see.. can barely see. His mom’s face.. eyes closed.. his eyes, same colour… red.. so much red. His head swirls, swaying but he stays… hands,.. blood flowing.. red.. so much red.

_Please_. Silence… nothing.. so much red. Ears ringing, head swirling. Thump thump… _thump_. _Please no_ …. _mom_ …. red… _so much_ … too much.

He feels hands grab his wrist, pulling him back. He cries out. “NO!” He tries, but he doesn’t hear… can’t hear. Red drips off his hands… red.. too much. “Let me go!” Richie cries, but the hands don’t leave… they grab him.. red.. staining.

“RICHIE!” Someone screams, and he flinches.. loud.. too loud. Someone grabs him by his face, brushing away the tears. He blinks heavily… red… but different. Lighter.. softer. “Are you with me?” The voice continues, softer this time. Richie blinks again, light red… red but different.

He frowns, jerking on the spot. And Richie was just fast enough to see them wheel his mom away, shouting. Richie whimpers, eyes going wide.

“I s-s-sho-o-” He tries, but the words don’t come out.

_I shot her_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *
> 
> TW: Blood, torture, detailing scene of Richie shooting Maggie and her almost dying, panic attack (?).


	16. Chapter 16

He’s _stained_ with blood, it’s basically dripping off his hands, and his own stomach is a mess of red that isn’t leaving any time soon. His head is spinning, and he just sits there numbly, unable to focus on anything, unable to process anything that was happening all around him right now.

Something moves in front of him, but he doesn't react, blinking once. It’s more of a reflex, his body telling him forcing him to blink.

“Richie?” Someone calls for him far away, as if it was two rooms over. He blinks again, and someone grabs his wrist, gently. He slowly glances down, barely moving and agonisingly slow. Someone says something again, but he can’t hear it, and he can’t get himself to care at the moment.

He blinks sluggishly, feeling his hand being tugged forwards, not enough to get him to move. He recognises the dark skin, but he can’t place the name.. can’t remember, nor care. He keeps his eyes on his hands, but they’re not focusing, vision blurring, brain not processing the sight.

Something wet presses against his hand, wiping away gently. Red wipes away, staining, getting thinner, pink even. The cloth is soft, and cool against his skin. The cloth is lifted, and brought down on his hand again, wiping again, a little rougher this time. But the person is still so gentle.

“Mike?” Richie whispers suddenly, looking up and the person also looks up with a kind smile.

“Are you with me again?” He asks softly, and for a second he stops wiping his hand. Richie frowns slightly.

“Again..?” He whispers and Mike nods patiently. He picks up the wet cloth again, wiping at his hands. Richie glances down, seeing blood coat his hands. His breath hitches at the sight, eyes widening. “I killed her.” He croaks, tears welling up in his eyes. He killed her.. he killed his own mother.

Mike lifts his head, quickly shaking his head. “You didn’t, we arrived in time. Ben’s mom is healing her as we speak, and we have the best doctors working to make sure she stays alive.” Mike hurriedly says, and Richie just… stares. He can only stare at Mike with wide eyes at the information.

“S-She’s not dead?” He stammers, and Mike shakes his head again. Still, Richie recoils, letting his tears fall. Because he doesn’t know if he should be happy or sad… how the fuck could he not know if he was glad his mom was still alive? What the fuck was wrong with him right now?

He almost killed his mom and he feels… nothing? No relief that she didn’t die? No fear that she could still pass? He doesn’t regret shooting her, it was to save-

“Eddie?” Richie suddenly croaks, eyes widening. “Where’s E-Eds?” he asks, voice still croaking audibly.

“Are you sure I shouldn’t get my mom?” Someone else asks with a whisper, and Richie turns his head to see Ben… standing in the room. What room? Richie frowns, instead focusing what was around Ben.

“No, she’s needed somewhere else.” Bev shakes her head, and Richie warily focuses on her. She’s sitting on one of the cots, holding an ice pack again Eddie’s side.

“Eds?” Richie exclaims, but it comes out as a muted whisper. He tries to slide off the cot, but he immediately stumbles, knees giving out.

“Woah!” A voice behind him says, and he flinches when he feels two sets of hands grab him, helping him back on the cot. “You’re still bleeding, and you probably have a concussion.” Stan says in a hushed tone, walking around him until he was in front of him.

“D-Don’t overwhelm him, h-he’s still in s-shock.” Bill cuts in, putting a hand on Stan’s shoulder.

“What the fuck-” Richie mumbles, and Bill laughs slightly, glancing at Mike. The boy nods, waving Bill and Stan away to give them some space before turning back to Richie. “What is happening?” Richie mumbles, and Mike lifts the washcloth again, gently grabbing one of Richie’s hands.

He can see blood on them, and he flinches again. “Do you know what this is?” Mike asks, a worrying frown on his face.

“M-Mom-” Richie whimpers and Mike nods.

“I was trying to help you clean it, is that okay?” He asks, but Richie nods immediately. He wants the blood off, he wants his hands to feel clean again. So Mike dutifully starts wiping at his hands again. “Do you remember what happened?” Mike asks as he wets the cloth again before wiping more blood.

It doesn’t come off immediately, the blood has already dried and is sticking to his skin. Richie shivers at the thought, but he stays seated.

“I shot… I shot her.” Richie whispers, feeling tears burn in his eyes.

“You protected Eddie,” Mike adds, glancing at Eddie for a moment. The smaller boy was also still a bit out of it, but considerably less so than Richie. At least, he was responsive and knew what was going on. “You were unresponsive when we found you, it was like you couldn’t see or hear us.”

“It was scary-” Bev whispers, and Richie glances at her, frowning.

“Light red-” Richie whispers, and Bev cocks her head slightly causing her hair to move slightly. “Your hair… light red-” He tries to clarify, but his mind still feels kind of foggy, and he can’t quite get himself to focus.

“So that’s what you meant, you kept saying that when we were with Nox,” Bev muses, and Richie nods numbly. That makes sense, so it was Bev who found him, who held him. But after that? Richie frowns, trying to shake his head, as if that would help him remember. Mike cleans the last of the blood releasing his hands.

Richie glances at them, only now realising the pain he was feeling. His left wrist was bruising considerably, throbbing with pain. And both his head and nose hurt.

“You were in shock when we found you, and you wouldn’t talk to us when we got you back here. I don’t even think you were aware of what was happening.” Mike explains, and Richie releases a shuddering breath, bringing his hand to his throbbing head.

“Jesus fuck-” He mutters, flinching slightly as his hands touch a sore spot on his forehead. The fog in his mind starts to clear slowly but surely. He can remember flashes, colours mostly, but he can’t remember how he got to the med bay. “Eddie! Are you okay?” He suddenly gasps.

He looks at Eddie, almost ready to bolt until he sees Eddie chuckle slightly. How has he not seen his face before? He looked at Eddie… and yet he didn’t see the bruising surrounding his nose, ugly blotches of blue and red. There were two butterfly stitches on the bridge of his nose, and the bruises extended to his eyes.

“You look awful-” Richie croaks, and Eddie scowls.

“Have you looked in the mirror lately?” Eddie retorts, but a relieved smile was on his face. Richie grimaces at that.

“I don’t think I want to right now,” He jokes lightly. “My point still stands, you look awful. Are you okay?” He asks and Eddie shrugs slightly.

“Doctor said I have a broken nose, but she already set it, and applied the butterfly stitches. And my ribs are bruised, one cracked.” Eddie lists off his injuries.

“Wait, a doctor was here?” He asks, and he can see Eddie and Bev frown in concern. And he _hated_ it. “Was she hot?” He adds, feeling a little relief as the Losers groan at that, Stan even rolling his eyes.

“She is 58 years old, you idiot-” Eddie groans.

“Kinky, around the same age as your-” Eddie conjures a dagger with a hiss of pain, throwing it at Richie. The taller boy laughs, head finally clearing more and flipping Eddie the bird as the dagger disappears on impact.

“Don’t you still have to set Richie’s nose Mike?” Eddie grumbles, and Mike nods at that. Immediately Richie stills, eyes widening.

“Oh no no no, not happening!” He exclaims, hands flying to his nose. “Mikey-” He whines, but Mike just chuckles.

“I’ll be careful Rich,” He says, and Richie grumbles, dropping his hands and squeezing his own thighs with his right hand. The left one was hurting when he tried to squeeze.

“Couldn’t you have done this when I was zoned out?” He breathes out as Mike reaches for his nose.

“We didn’t want to scare you, or cause you more pain when you weren’t aware of what was happening,” Mike explains gently, prodding at his nose. Richie winces, but Mike releases his nose soon enough. “But the bone in your nose isn’t displaced, Eddie is messing with you.” He laughs, and Richie gapes at him

Eddie grins back with an innocent expression, shrugging. Before Richie can react though, Mike shoves an ice-pack at him, directing Richie’s hand to hold it to his nose with his right hand.

“It’s sprained right?” Richie asks, voice slightly muffled as he gestures to his left wrist. Mike nods at that.

“Ben’s mom can come heal it when she’s done, but I don’t know if she can heal someone so soon.” Mike says as he starts strapping Richie’s wrist to immobilise it. Richie tries to shrug at that.

“It’s okay, I’ll live. I’ll just pop a few painkillers-”

“Not so soon after we gave you your first round.” Stan butts in, and Richie grins sheepishly.

“Stop me bird boy-” Richie teases, jumping into the shadows when he notices Mike is done with his wrist. He appears besides Stan, but before he can do anything he suddenly feels his head swirl, knees bucking under him.

“Stopped you.” Stan remarks dryly as he catches Richie before he can crash to the ground. Richie blinks warily, groaning.

“Ow what the fuck-” Richie mutters, bringing his right hand up to his head.

“Seriously Chee?” Eddie asks, not even a bit surprised that the boy would do that. Stan helps him sit down on the chair, as opposed to the ground.

“B-Both of you have bedrest, until M-Mrs Hanscom clears you.” Bill orders, glaring at Richie for good measure. Richie just grins.

“Are you sure it’s not Mrs Handsome?” Richie asks, and nobody comments on how it seemed to lock his usual enthusiasm. Instead, the Losers just reacted like they usually would, bringing a smile to Richie’s face nonetheless.

*

*

*

“Y’know I really expected this to be a lot more business-y,” Richie chuckles as he walks over to the table to sit down. Eddie raises an eyebrow at him, looking him up and down.

“You’re wearing Ninja Turtle pyjamas and you’re wrapped in a My Little Pony blanket.” Eddie points out as a matter of fact, and Richie just grins, nodding.

“You’re just jealous,” He counters, sticking his tongue out. Eddie rolls his eyes, turning back to the rest of the table. Of course Richie was the last one to arrive, which didn't surprise anyone.

“How are you feeling Richie?” Dick asks, and Richie smiles softly.

“Better, it still hurts but it’s getting better,” Richie says, knowing all too well that his face was still a mess of black and blue, and his left wrist was still sprained.

“I can try healing you after this meeting, I’m feeling much better today.” Mrs Hanscom says, glancing at both Richie and Edie. Both of the boys were still obviously injured, and clearly in pain. But after trying to keep Richie’s mom from dying yesterday, she had been too exhausted to use her powers again.

Something both boys understood of course. They were already glad to be home, safe. Having their injuries fixed would just be an added bonus.

“Thank you, Arlene.” Eddie says, before turning back to the rest of the table. From the Losers, only Eddie and Richie were here, but the rest of the elders were here, Dick Halloran, Arlene and Donald Uris.

“So we wanted to discuss what is going to happen moving forwards, there are a few important things we have to go over-” Dick speaks up, and Richie folds the blanket a little tighter around his body at that, leaning back against the chair, because he already knows what points they were about to discuss.

First priority of course, his mother. He barely slept yesterday but eventually around midnight they told both Richie and Eddie that Maggie would survive. Neither boy had been able to sleep before that, and even then did Richie barely sleep. The bags were clear under his eyes.

And Edie could see right through his act, he was exhausted and still not fully okay with what happened.

“Both Wentworth and Maggie will have to be given to the UN when Maggie can be safely transported, so we need to make sure we remove her knowledge of your identity before that, do you think you two are up for that?” Dick asks. Richie glances at Eddie for a moment, meeting Eddie’s gaze.

Now he was just glad that they already took Sonia’s memory of Eddie’s identity before they were taken by Maggie, but that indeed still left Richie’s mom with a memory she couldn’t have.

“We can do that.” Eddie says, and Dick nods slightly.

“She’ll be under for a long time, so that makes it easier,” Donald speaks up, and Richie frowns.

“So I won’t be able to talk to her?” Richie asks, voice almost a soft whisper. Eddie glances at Richie, recognising the sadness in his voice. Dick stops as well for a moment, eyes softening.

“I’m sorry Richie, you won’t-” He says softly, and Richie nods mutely, looking down and quickly wiping at his eyes. She doesn’t deserve his tears… she doesn’t deserve his sadness. But at the same time, he can’t help but feel sad at the thought that he would never speak to his own mother again without saying goodbye.

Or rather, he wouldn’t be able to speak to her as her son anymore, because she wouldn’t know she has one.

Eddie continues glancing at Richie, almost feeling what he was feeling at the moment, and he carefully reaches out to grasp Richie’s hand. But Richie doesn’t look up as Dick continues to talk about everything that was going to happen now. And Richie listened even if he just wanted to cry in his room.

Scream until he can no longer scream.

Dick continues to talk about the people they arrested from Nox, including Mindy the waitress and the random guy Richie bumped into on the street. They were new as well, which is how Richie didn’t recognise them. But their careers were over all too quickly. Richie and Eddie would have to wipe their minds as well.

Richie blows out a breath at the thought, they had to work quickly to get everyone.

They talk about Sue Snell, who was apparently deep undercover for years to bring Nox down from the inside, but it all became a blur to Richie, and soon enough Dick calls the meeting to an end, and Arlene follows Richie and Edie back to finally heal them up.

*

*

*

_A few weeks later_

“Dude!” Richie exclaims loudly, transporting next to Stan and Bill. “Look at that, look how awesome this looks-” Richie beams proudly, sticking his arms out and twirling around to show off every aspect of his new costume.

“We already saw the prototype-” Stan deadpans, and Richie flips him the bird quickly before disappearing into the shadows again to grab Eddie, transporting back. Eddie scowls at that, but doesn’t say anything.

“Shush bird-boy,” Richie waves him off, the grin still on his face. “They changed the costumes again, we’re officially matching right now.” Richie proclaims, gesturing to both him and Eddie. The outfit Richie was currently wearing was laced with purple instead of the mostly black costume he wore as Pitch.

Of course Bev helped with the design, and made sure to both make the costume dark enough to help with Richie’s powers, which were still shadow-based, but also make sure it didn’t look too threatening outside of it. People were still extremely divided on Richie, and whether he was good or bad.

One half defending him and one half still outright distrusting him. He doesn’t need to look scary on top of that.

The cape only came just below his butt, and only the outside was a shade of black, the inside was purple, and the hood attached was exactly the same. Although this time he has a cowl covering his face, so if he wanted to, he could take off the hood. The top part of the cowl was open, allowing his curly hair to poke through.

He was wearing thick boots, and protective guards around his forearms, but his fingers were uncovered.

“It l-looks good,” Bill smiles, looking Richie up and down before shifting quickly. Stan glances back and forth between Richie and Bill, who now looked like Richie when he was still Pitch.

“Damn I looked scary-” Richie whistles, and Stan nods with a thoughtful look.

“Bev did a good job on the colours, especially the cowl is a good idea.” Stan says, and Richie grins at that. Without his hood the excited smile was all too visible, and especially comparing the two, it was obvious that the costume was a lot less threatening currently. “So did you decide what your new name is going to be?”

Richie glances at Eddie for a moment, as if he was suddenly very self-conscious about himself.

Not like Stan really blames him for that. Pitch has been his name since he can remember. He has always been Pitch, Pitch was his name as much as Richie was. The task of choosing a name as important as Pitch was daunting, and way too difficult for him. He could change it again of course, but even that wasn’t ideal.

Just like he wanted the name to still make sense, but almost every shadow related name sounded too evil.

Which wouldn’t have been a problem, if the rest of the world wasn’t still deciding whether he could be trusted or not. Whether he was actually a bad guy undercover or really did change for the better this time. There was too much for Richie to think about whilst choosing the new name.

Eventually Richie sighs, nodding. “Midnight-” He says, and the uncertainty in his voice is almost out of character. There is a short silence, and Richie clamps his mouth shut, waiting anxiously.

“Could’ve been worse.” Stan deadpans after a moment, and Bill nudges him with an eyeroll, changing back to normal.

“You know t-that was always my f-f-favourite.” Bill smiles brightly, and Richie matches the smile, nodding. Stan chuckles as well, but Richie already knew Stan well enough to recognise his reaction.

“Thanks Billy-” He says, before his eyes light up. “I’m going to find the rest and tell them! Eddie-” Richie says, grabbing Eddie and pulling him into the darkness as well. Too quickly for Eddie to even say something or protest.

*

*

*

“I thought I saw some people flee the building in disgust-” Richie grins as he drags Eddie over to the table. All of the Losers look up, and Bev grins.

“Probably smelling your stench.” She throws back, before frowning slightly as she sees him. “Since when do you need glasses?” She asks. She follows him as he sits down on the empty seat they had saved for him, Eddie plopping down next to him.

“I don’t, it’s purely a fashion statement.” Richie proudly grins, and Eddie rolls his eyes next to him, looking around carefully. All of the Losers were sitting around the same table they were usually at in the restaurant, although it was a different one this time since apparently Nox blew up the insides after they took Richie and Eddie.

But they had since rebuilt the place, and since a few days it has opened again, allowing the Losers to come back to their usual spot. Which was a welcoming refuge as the trials of both Maggie and Wentworth Tozier was going on, and Sonia’s as well. All of them without a memory of Richie’s and Eddie’s identity.

“I’m just like Superman right now-” Richie continues, and Stan huffs.

“You know nobody is fooled by the glasses in any of the movies?” Stan points out, and Richie just sticks out his tongue.

“Why do you hate joy so much?” He asks, and Stan just shrugs.

“I think it suits you, Rich.” Ben cuts in and Richie grins brightly.

“Bev I’m stealing your man, at least _he_ appreciates my good looks.” Richie says, sending a mock glare towards Eddie.

“My lack of appreciation has nothing to do with your looks-” Edie shoots back, watching Richie carefully. He was doing a good job at hiding what he felt. He was happy, true, nobody could deny that. He was carefree, laughed with the Losers and enjoyed spending time with them, even during training.

But just like Eddie with his mother, Richie’s parents’ trials weighed on him. And they were both still dealing with being tortured just months ago, and their abuse, mental and physical, by their parents.

Bill whistles at Eddie’s remark. “B-Burn,” He laughs out loud, fist bumping Eddie from across the table. “But why the g-glasses? We w-wear masks for a reason.” Bill asks, a little softer to avoid anyone hearing. Richie shrugs slightly, because yeah, that was fair. They did wear masks for a reason, all of them did.

He glances up for a moment as the waiter comes to their table to take their order now they are finally complete. And Eddie can feel himself and Richie tense slightly. But it wasn’t Mindy who came to take their order, and by the way Bill’s face seems to brighten when Audra asks for his order, Richie takes it they know each other.

So he relaxes again, letting Eddie order for him again, especially since last time they didn't even get the chance to eat it.

“Okay so my costume isn’t as secretive as yours are-” Richie starts as Audra walks away, hand lingering on Bill’s shoulder for a moment and causing the boy to blush. Bev nods thoughtfully at that. It was a conscious decision on their part to not cover his eyes completely in his mask.

His powers allowed him to do that if he wanted to, but no cloth or material was covering it.

They couldn’t really afford to have him be scary at the moment, and it wasn’t a big turnaround, but Richie’s new costume and identity as Midnight had helped sway the public a little bit. There were still a fair share of people that hated him for what he did, or simply didn’t trust him after that.

But even, people started to appreciate his help more, and only one parent screamed at him when Eddie and Richie rescued a bus of children. Middy and Lulu the kids started calling them, because they were much more forgiving than the parents. And even if they accepted his help for now.

They still didn’t trust him. He could see it on their faces, the way half just took the child out of his arms and made sure there was enough distance between them. The way they only thanked Luminance, and not Midnight. But there were a few who did thank him, but Richie had already accepted that there would always be people.

People who would always see him as Pitch, and not Midnight.

“I guess it’s not really about hiding as much as-” Richie continues his explanation, swallowing thickly. “I used to have shitty eyesight as a kid, but my parents didn’t really like that for obvious reasons, so they made someone fix it. It’s sort of like a fuck you to them I guess.” Richie finishes with a shrug.

His parents would throw a tantrum if they knew it. His glasses and poor eyesight was always a source of disappointment for them. A stain on their pure bloodline they told him. No Tozier would walk around with shitty eyesight, and he certainly wouldn’t be wearing glasses to show it off.

His glasses were to show that he wasn’t scared to show weakness, that he wouldn’t blindly follow his parents. It was who he would’ve become without them…

There was silence for a moment before Mike smiled at him. “Ben’s right Richie, it really suits you. And it’s _you_.” He speaks, and Richie _wants_ to grin at him, make some stupid joke but he can just muster a tiny smile, biting back the tears. It was _him_ , not Pitch, not Richie Tozier, or whatever the public made him out to be.

Just him.

And that was enough for the Losers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is officially the last chapter! I just want to thank everyone who commented, read, etc. I hope you liked the story! <3


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